


The Legend of Zelda: Araea's Mask

by Gamewizard2008



Series: Kids Next Door Gameverse [39]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, Ice, Ocean, Pirates, Sea, Winter, frozen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-05-25 11:30:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14976275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gamewizard2008/pseuds/Gamewizard2008
Summary: The 5th story of the Newborn Saga,The Legend of Zelda: Araea's Mask, also called theAraea Arc. Set in one of Link's eras, two years after the Hero of Wind defeated Ganon, the Tetra Pirates are suddenly stranded in a frozen sea. As Link goes off to investigate the cause of this phenomenon, he is whisked away into an unknown land.





	1. The Frozen Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link and the Tetra Pirates are surprised when the ocean is frozen! Link sets off to find the cause of this phenomena.

**I never thought I would write another _Zelda_ story after _Operation: MASKED_. But I am. This story takes place in the _Wind Waker_ universe, and it also takes place in the Newborn Saga of the Gameverse.**

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Chapter 1: The Frozen Sea

_**

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_This is a story from not so long ago. A story of a boy from a small, simple island. This boy sailed treacherous seas, defeated countless monsters, and saved the world twice. Yet, he still can’t bring himself to get off his lazy butt._

“WAKE UP!” Link awoke with a start when a sandaled foot crushed his stomach. He was staring up at his young captain, Tetra. “You traded posts with Zuko to look out for islands, not take a nap in the crow’s nest. Well? Do you have anything to report? I’m sure you must have seen TONS of amazing sights by now in Dream Land.”

Link didn’t say a thing. The bags were still under his eyes. “…Oh, of course you don’t.” Tetra smiled in disbelief. “Why trust the silent hero with the reports? Give me that telescope.” Tetra reached into Link’s pocket and retrieved the Tingle Tuner. “Uh, nope.” She tossed it away and reached in again. “Nope.” Tossed the Picto Box. “Nope.” Tossed the Magic Armor. “Sheesh, clean out your pockets, much?” Tossed away a bottle with a fairy. “Here it is.” She got the Telescope.

Tetra walked around the crow’s nest and viewed across the endless sea from multiple directions. “Sigh… not a speck of land in sight. Oh well.” Tetra put the scope away. “We’ll find some eventually. Come on, Link, let’s catch some fish. I bet you’re probably starving by now.” She began to climb down. “Potions don’t fill you up much, do they?”

After fully waking up, Link joined his captain on the keel of the ship, letting fishing rods dangle in the water. “Can you believe we’ve been at sea for two years? I’m starting to wonder if there’s even a land to call New Hyrule. Nothing but island after tiny island. Heh, maybe the King should’ve reconsidered letting the old kingdom drown, huh?” She glanced at her first mate. Link gasped, having nodded off for a moment, then looked at her.

Tetra sighed again. She faced the sea with a smile, the wind flapping her golden hair. “But you can’t argue with the peace and quiet. The ocean feels so… empty and serene sometimes… It feels like we died and we’re just sailing through the afterlife. And with weather like this… that’s not really a bad thing. …’Course, if this WAS the afterlife, there’d be a heck of a lot more fish, am I right?” She and Link shared a laugh.

It was then that Tetra felt an odd chill on her skin. When she viewed the horizon, she found no clear sky or warm sun, but white mist blotting the light. “Sigh… not another fog. ZUKO, DO YOU SEE ANYTHING?”

“Afraid not, Miss Tetra.” Zuko called from the crow’s nest. “The mist is getting on my lens.”

“GONZO, turn the ship around. Take us on a new course away from this-”

The ship quaked and came to a sudden halt. “Waaaah-!” Link lost his balance and fell backward.

“Link!” Tetra screamed. Link landed on solid ice, rubbing his sore back. He saw the ship wedged into the ice. The fog cleared a little, unveiling the frozen expanse before them. “What the… Zuko! We were sailing right into an iceberg field! How could you not see them coming?!”

“They weren’t there a moment ago, Miss! I swear!”

“Oh, so they just magically appeared out of thin air? All of you, get down there and try to break this ice so we can get…” But when Tetra turned, the seas behind her were slowly morphing into ice. “Uh… or maybe not.” She turned down at Link again. “Link! There’s something unnatural about this ice. Do you think you could go and investigate? If it looks too dangerous, come on back.”

Link nodded, his sword and shield strapped tight to his back. (Play “Freezie Breezie” from _Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze_.)

 

_Stage 1: The Frozen Sea_

_Mission: Find out why the sea is frozen._

Link followed a path around some large mounds of ice, slipping with every few steps. He would never be used to slippery surfaces, even after crossing the Ice Ring Isle or the Isle of Frost. Heck, this place looked even larger than both of them. Link encountered a wall of ice that was slightly cracked and thin, and it was weak enough for him to hit with his sword until it shattered. Link entered a small field where Ice Chuchus sprouted up. The Chus would die in one hit from his sword, but he was in danger of being frozen. He mostly ignored the Chus and followed a path out of the field, exposing himself to open sea.

“WAAAAAAAH!” Link cried when a massive tidal wave towered above him like a mountain, relentlessly ready to drown the hero. But as fast as it came, the wave was frozen. Link remained where he stood, his frightened gaping face figuratively frozen. Link recomposed and looked around for a way to go. The side of the wave appeared to be frozen in odd formations. Link crossed this small frozen field and climbed a few ledges that would lead him to a platform frozen on the wave. He jumped across a series of platforms that threatened to collapse under his weight. He made it to a thin hanging icicle and climbed it to a larger foothold.

From there, Link would have to sidle over a very thin ledge against the frozen wave. Icicles dropped from above, trying to send the hero falling, but he was cautious to avoid. Once past the ledge, Link faced a long and slippery slide. Having a wild idea, Link threw his Hero’s Shield under his feet and used it like a sled. Link stylishly swerved around mini icebergs and jumped gaps in the slide. He laughed joyfully, enjoying this new sport he just invented. “WAH!” His shield bumped against a speed bump and Link landed face-first against the ice. “Ahh…” Link sighed, pushing up. “Huh?”

There seemed to be a small, black, rectangular slate lying abandoned on the ice. Link curiously walked over to pick it up. The slate had orange lines around it. When he touched the black screen, it sparked to life.

A girl flipped out of the slate. She was a whitish-blue and her body was digital. She had a dress, skinny legs, blank eyes, and two large pigtails. A large earpiece was on her left ear. _“Sheikah Slate activated.”_ She spoke with a robotic voice and a static, though high-pitched tone. She was smiling, yet Link saw no emotion on her features. _“Analyzing user. User appears to be: Hylian. Age: 14. Please: provide username.”_ A digital keypad was shown on the slate.

Link entered his own name. _“Username is: Link. Please: enter name of hometown.”_ Link did so, still confused. _“ Outset Island is not registered in my databanks. Shall I add it?”_ Link nodded. _“Very well. Enter name of occupation.”_ Link did so. _“Occupation is: swordsman. Lastly, enter date of birth.”_ He did so. _“Birth date registered as: February 21. Excellent, Master Link. The Sheikah Slate is now yours to command. If you have any questions, I will happily answer.”_

Link’s first question was: _“‘What is the Sheikah Slate?’ The Sheikah Slate is a mobile device created to provide intel on people, creatures, and the world around you. I was created by top Sheikah scientists to be virtually indestructible. I am also equipped with a variety of options, such as-”_ The hologram buzzed and turned static for a brief moment. _“Error. Unable to locate Digi-Weapons or customizable settings. Only settings available are ‘Camera’ and ‘Flash.’ I apologize for the inconvenience, Master.”_

Link sighed. He had no idea what this was, but it was a unique item, he figured. Maybe Tetra would like it.

**You got the _Sheikah Slate_! This handy all-purpose device can record enemy data and provide hints on people or locations. It has other features too, but they don’t seem to be available.**

Link thought of something: he asked the hologram, _“My name? I am simply an A.I. programmed into the Sheikah Slate. I have no name. …You would like to name me? I suppose that is acceptable. Please: enter a name for this device below.”_ Another keypad appeared. _“But before you do, please look at this list of one billion names I will NOT accept.”_

Link flinched when such a list appeared. The names were all inappropriate or swear words, along with countless alternate spellings of said words. Link shook his head and switched back to the previous screen. He gave it some thought before finally entering a name.

 _“You have chosen to name me: Ayri. Is that correct?”_ Link clicked ‘Yes.’ _“Very well. From now on, my name is Ayri.”_

Link smiled and nodded. He couldn’t help but give her a name similar to his sister’s. He strapped the slate to his belt and kept following the path. He reached a field of frozen rafts, with Bokoblins looking around confusedly. Link decided to test the slate’s camera and snapped a picture of one. _“Bokoblin: These demons are common foot soldiers in the Underworld Army. They typically do not wear armor, but can use a variety of weapons.”_

The Bokoblins spotted Link and grabbed either swords or Deku Sticks. Link clashed with the demons, but he was all too used to their tactics. Five Bokoblin came at him, but Link defeated them all. There was no way out of this field, and after a while of searching, Ayri said, _“You appear to be lost, Master. Would you like some assistance?”_ Link nodded. _“The ice under that ledge appears to be fragile. With enough force, perhaps it can be broken.”_ Link spotted the ledge in question. He ran over and rolled into it, the ice breaking into a hill.

Link climbed up and arrived at a small lake with floating ice platforms. _“Master, due to the drastic decreasing temperatures, jumping into the water is not advised.”_ Link rolled his eyes at the obvious advice and carefully jumped the platforms, some of which floated in set paths. Ice Chus also ambushed him on some. Link snapped a picture. _“Ice Chuchu: This gelatinous blob is composed of an extremely cold jelly that can freeze you upon touch. Cooks often harvest their jelly to create desserts.”_

Link eventually crossed the lake and landed on the base of a narrow, snaky path. The ice was rugged enough to where he wouldn’t slip immediately, but Link still watched his footing. Link made it up and exited the enclosing of ice walls. Before him lay the Great Sea, reduced to a frozen expanse. Mouth agape, Link walked onto the frozen sea, looking every which way in hope for a speck of still-liquid water. But the ice seemed to stretch on for miles.

Ayri jumped out of the Sheikah Slate. _“Master Link, there appears to be a small error with my digital calendar. My date reads July 5, and given the geographical location, it should be summer, with an average temperature of 88°F. However, the current temperature is -10° and dropping. Please adjust my calendar when it is convenient for you, Master.”_

However, in what seemed like no time at all, a blizzard blotted out the sea. Whiteness surrounded Link from every direction, and the wind was so strong that he felt he might be swept off his feet. Through the whiteness, he could see something floating in midair; a mask of some sort. Link could then make out a body wearing the mask, and as they stepped closer, their form became more visible. This person seemed like a girl, with light-blue hair and a dress, and pale bare legs that all looked like they had become one with the ice. Her mask was shaped like a heart, made of purple and dark colors. The center had the design of a snowflake, its lines linking to fractals around the sides of the mask. Bright red and yellow eyes gazed at Link, non-blinking.

_“Oh… I didn’t think anything was still alive out here. …You’re a human, aren’t you? I thought all humans had drowned.”_

Link squinted his eyes against the wind. He tried to speak, but his teeth were merely clattering in the cold.

_“The God of the Sea drowned the world… to kill the demons. They drowned everyone… They drowned everyone… Mother… Father…”_

The wind grew stronger and the air grew colder. Link was losing feeling in his senses. Then, he gasped, for he just remembered a way he could counter this wind: he retrieved the Wind Waker from his pocket, yet was unable to conduct against the superior wind. “WAAAAAAAHHHH!” Into the sky Link flew, swirling in what felt like a vortex of snow. Before long, he was entirely engulfed in white mist. Within that mist, images of a Rito face, a Korok face, a puzzle piece, a Sheikah symbol, and many others flew past his vision. The Wind Waker was absent from his hand, lost in the vortex. Eventually, the white faded to black.

 _“…nk…ink…Link…”_ A light began to shine in the darkness. _“Link… Is that really you?”_ There was silence. _“…Yep, it’s definitely you.”_ The light expanded, and in that moment, Link lost all sense of self.

****

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The Legend of Zelda:  
Araea’s Mask

_**

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**As you can no doubt guess, this story draws heavy inspiration from _Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze_. I’ve always been into Winter Apocalypse-type stories. This story is also pretty much a mix of _Majora’s Mask_ and _Wind Waker_ , and I actually got the idea from a deviantART picture, but I can’t find it, anymore. Now, keep in mind that I don’t really intend this to be as long as _MASKED_ ; I have mainly five worlds planned (with one being the hub world).**


	2. Clockwork Island

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link awakens to find himself transformed into a Minish! Having arrived at a strange town, he must seek help from a group of kids.

**One thing I really liked about _Majora’s Mask_ is how they kind of jump into the story and don’t waste too much time with tutorial stuff.**

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Chapter 2: Clockwork Island

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_Link. Link! Where are we? Huh? Something’s happening. M-My body… I’m…_

Link’s eyes opened to darkness. Within that darkness were snowflakes drifting toward the ground. “Man… what just happened?” Link asked himself. “What? Hey… my voice. It’s different.”

Link sat up and rubbed his eyes… something felt off. His hands were yellowish, very skinny, and animal-like. His feet were the same, but he still had his tunic. Link grabbed the Sheikah Slate as Ayri jumped out. _“Unauthorized access detected: scans read that you are not my user.”_

“Huh?!” Link panicked. “What are you talking about, Ayri? It’s me, Link!”

_“Illogical. My user ‘Link’ is a Hylian, and scans read that you are a Minish.”_

“M-Minish?” The slate’s screen became a mirror: Link had beady blue eyes and longer, pointy ears; he sort of looked like a chipmunk. He also looked back to see a feather-like tail. “WAAAAAH!” was his only reaction.

Ayri buzzed. _“Fallacy detected: my data reads that Minish are roughly half an inch in height. One of the Sheikah Slate’s special features is to change size to accommodate the user in question. But once a user has been established, it cannot change size to accommodate someone else. The only possible exception is that you truly are ‘Link’ and have transformed into a Minish.”_

Link sighed in disbelief. “Wah!” he yelped in fright when a giant snowflake stuck into the ground beside him, then dodged another one.

_“Master Link, due to your miniscule height, certain objects such as snowflakes have a much greater density. The sharp points of these snowflakes have the potential to puncture members of your species. It would be wise to find shelter.”_

Link screamed and ran as fast as his tiny legs could. Snowflakes were falling everywhere; for a moment, Link considered drawing his shield and using it as a helmet, but he found that both his sword and shield were absent. Snowflakes were covering the field ahead, appearing as a garden of crystal spikes, but Link could follow a path in-between them. The path became a sort of maze, much to his annoyance. If this Minish form had shoes, he could probably stomp across the crystals and forget the maze, but for now, he should just be thankful this convenient path was here to begin with.

Link found himself face-planting into a wall of some sort. To his right, the wall made a turn, leading into some kind of gigantic structure. The snowflakes could no longer reach him inside, but the interior was so dark, Link couldn’t see. _“Master Link, the Sheikah Slate comes with a built-in flashlight. You may use it to see the path forward.”_

A light flashed on in Link’s beady eyes, catching him off guard. He faced it the other way, but the light could only shine a short distance. He aimlessly walked forward across the ice. He could hear boulder-sized droplets splashing in the distance. Link shone the light onto the ice—a gigantic fish swum up with its mouth wide open. “WAH!!” The fish rammed and shook the ice, but when it failed to snack on its prey, it began to swim around in circles.

The quaking from the fish caused massive icicles to drop from the ceiling, forcing Link to make a run for it again. The icicles were also slowly cracking the ice, so if Link hung about too long, the fish would have their dinner. Link was able to make it to a metal piece of land. The fish no longer rammed the ice and the icicles stopped. Link aimed the flashlight around and found a series of frozen gears and metal bars towering above him. Some stairs led the way upward, fit for his Minish form as it seemed.

“WAH!” Link yelped again when he ran into another Minish. The Minish was completely frozen, the fear eternally brimming in his large eyes. Link shone the ice around, finding multiple Minish in similar circumstances. “A…Ayri… these are Minish, too, aren’t they? What happened to them?”

_“Scans read that they are encased in ice, resulting in their nerves being completely immobile.”_

“I know THAT! But what happened here? Is this because… of that girl we saw?”

_“I am unable to provide an answer to this question, and I can only deduce that the unusually cold weather has caused these Minish to freeze. You may also like to know that it is now 6:00 a.m.. The sun should now be rising over this area.”_

Link could hear the shaking rhythm of footsteps coming from above. There was faint light seeping through holes at the top. “I could use a little sunlight about now.” Link continued up the stairs, leading up to the light holes. He realized this was the underside of a sewer lid, and so he climbed up through the top. (Play “Clock Town 1st Day” from _Majora’s Mask_!)

_“COCKADOODLE-DOOOOO!”_

Link felt as if he had warped to a brand new world. It was a bustling city with buildings that were taller than the ones on Windfall Island. They were so tall that the morning sun could not yet touch the city streets. Regardless, people were already out and about. There were Hylians, Gorons, Rito, white-haired figures that were sort of dressed like ninjas, as well a fish-people that looked like the late sage, Laruto. Link turned and realized that a clock tower loomed behind him, standing in the center of town.

Ayri jumped out. _“Master Link, I have determined that this location is Clockwork Island. This island is a metropolis that was built in the center of a collection of islands across the Great Sea. This island annually holds the Carnival of Time, a festival that honors the New Year. Since the month is July, the festival will not be happening for six months. However, judging by the surplus of snow on the ground, it may be December and you have not adjusted my calendar.”_

“Look, Ayri, I really don’t think your calendar is broken. Nothing about this snow is natural. …’Course, I can’t really do much about it when I’m like this.” Indeed, with his Minish size, he was much too small to do anything. He was an ant to the townspeople. However, it seemed that Minish townspeople were strolling the streets as well, staying far to the side where people wouldn’t step. “I guess all I can do now is ask around.”

 

_Stage 2: Clockwork Island_

_Mission: Find a way to return to your true form._

Link approached an adult Minish standing near the clock tower. “Hello, young man! Do you need something?” the Minish asked. Link briefly explained his situation. “You’re… a human that became a Minish?” Clearly, he found the story a little bizarre. “Uh… well, I don’t know how to help you there. And I don’t know anyone that could help. Since we’re Minish, adults can’t see us. Only children and animals. I don’t know how much they could help, but good luck to ya.”

Unfortunately, the thick walls of snow were too big for Link to climb, so he had to follow the clear paths that the people have swept. Link stayed along the sides of the path and walked to a wide area where a puppy was scampering about. Link was intimidated by the puppy’s size, so Link kept to the side of the field to avoid its vision. He saw another Minish standing by a tree close to the dog. He made his way to that tree without being seen.

“Hello there.” greeted the Minish. He actually seemed a couple years older than Link. “Haven’t seen you around before. There sure is a lot of snow for this time of year. Until the big people clear the streets, I’ll have to take that dog around.”

“That dog? He’s kinda big, don’t ya think?”

“Yeah, big to you, maybe. Didn’t your parents ever teach you how to tame animals?”

“I only had a grandma and she never taught me.”

“Oh… Well, it’s easy. When the dog gets close enough, just jump on its nose and grab on to its fur. Then you can steer them. Here, let me show ya!” The Minish ran out and attracted the dog’s attention. The puppy trotted up and crouched down, panting happily, and the Minish hopped on. The puppy kicked about for a few seconds before settling down. “There! Like this!” He hopped off. “Now you try.”

Link nervously approached the puppy as it crouched down, wagging its tail. Link leapt onto the nose and quickly grabbed its tail. “Whoooaaa!” He was flung around when the puppy kicked its legs back and turned, but the creature settled down once more.

“See, there ya go! Most Minish can tame animals when they’re nine or something. I’ll let you take him for now if you have somewhere to be. I’m sure another one will come along.”

“Thanks!” Link tugged on the fur and rode the puppy across town. The beast had no qualms about trotting over snow; what might have taken hours at this Minish size, Link crossed the city in minutes. This dog was like a giant boat with four legs. Only difference being it traveled on land. Link made his way to the west side of town, where the park was located. Children were happily climbing the a playground or throwing snowballs. There was also a couple sitting on a bench and kissing.

“’Twas winter when we had our first encounter.” the man said. “It seems the gods have chosen to make this our month.”

“Oh, Darling… I hope the goddesses aren’t jealous of our love.”

“You are the only goddess for me, Honey.”

“Oh, God.” Link said with disbelief.

“Arf, I know it’s all they do, arf.”

“Gross. …!” Link perked up. “YOU CAN TALK?!”

“You’re a Minish, arf. Can’t Minish talk to animals, arf?”

“Uh… I guess so. Maybe you can help me. I’m looking for a way to become a human again.”

“You want to be human, arf? You’re a weird Minish. Your best chance at doing that is probably talking to him.” The dog aimed its nose at a boy walking around the snow. The boy had brown hair and wore an open black coat and hood with a blue shirt underneath. “I see his friends around town a lot. They like to sneak around and pester people for answers, arf.”

“He looks familiar… Dog, take me closer.”

“My name is Quinn, arf.” Quinn obeyed and trotted up to the kid.

The kid noticed and greeted the dog, “Hey, boy. Find a new toy or something? Hm?” The kid looked closer and saw what was on Quinn’s nose. “A…A Minish?”

“I knew it!” Link said. “Ivan, it really is you! Where are all the Killer Bees?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. My name is Evan, and I command the Bomber Pirates!” Evan drew a sword and directed skyward. “We sail the seas, exploring islands, and looking for people with problems to solve!” He slashed some frozen grass behind him. “And until recently, we’ve been dealing with our greatest mission, yet: figuring out why it’s SNOWING in the middle of SUMMER!” He stabbed the ground, Quinn jumping back in fright. “How are we supposed to cross the ocean when it’s frozen?! I mean, yeah, we can walk across it, but there ain’t no boats to protect us from them monsters! And now that old hag ain’t even lettin’ us into her lab no more.”

“What old hag?”

“What’s it to you?”

“That’s what I’M asking! I need someone who can help me, so I would greatly appreciate it if you knew someone capable.”

“You got a smart mouth for a Minish.” Evan said, folding his arms. “I kinda like you.”

“Heh heh. Thanks.” Link blushed. _Maybe I should’ve ditched the silent act a long time ago._

“Tell you what: I’ll help you if you can find the other members of my crew. By this time, they’re probably doing espionage around town. Find them all, tell ’em I sent you, and maybe we’ll lend you a hand.”

“Alright, I’ll take you up on that offer.”

“Good. Their names are Gork, Sipha, Nighlo, and Meen. It’s up to you to figure out the rest.”

“Come on, Quinn. It looks like I’ll need you for a little longer.”

“I got nothing else to do, arf!”

Keeping his puppy companion, Link began to search the town further. Of course, Clockwork Island made Windfall look tiny by comparison, so playing Hide-and-Seek with (who he assumed were) the same kids was four times as difficult. “Hey, Quinn, you must see these kids often, right? Do you know where they like to hang?”

“Well, I know Gork likes to spy on the gallery. That’s in the northeast part of town, arf.” Link’s Sheikah Slate provided a map of the town, so he used it to steer Quinn toward the northeast. There was an art gallery of some sort, surrounded by a path of grass with large snowballs lined up on it. Link detected movement in one of the smaller snowballs. He made Quinn approach it. The puppy sniffed the snowball until it looked up, revealing to be a Goron child.

“Hey, don’t give away my cover, puppy!”

“Are you Gork?” Link asked. “Evan sent me.”

“He did? I guess he wants me to report back. Okay, thanks for the info.” The Goron curled up and rolled across town, his snowball growing bigger.

“Sipha likes to eavesdrop on the fishermen in the Fishing Corner. I heard they broke the ice around that area to keep fishing there. It’s in the west.” Again, Link and Quinn made their way to that side of town. There was a square-shaped pool intersecting with the sea, unfrozen as two buff sailors were fishing in it.

“Oi, what do ya suppose is with this weather?” a sailor asked.

“Must be on account of this ‘Global Freezing’ you hear the Rito squawkin’ about.”

Link could see the shadows of fish in the water, and this terrified him, remembering his earlier experience. However, one of the fish was larger and had a humanoid appearance. “Quinn, bark at that one!”

“Bark! Bark! BARK!” yelped the puppy.

The fish stuck its face out—it was actually a Zora girl. “Shoo, dog! I’m trying to eavesdrop… Hey, who are you?” She noticed Link.

“I was sent by Ivan. I mean, Evan. Go meet him at the park.”

“Oh, I see! Good luck finding the others.” Sipha climbed out of the pool and headed off.

“She was a Zora, wasn’t she? I always heard that the Zora went extinct. Well, Quinn, where do we find the next one?”

“Nighlo is a Rito, arf. I’m sure he’ll be in a tree where there’s a lot of people.”

The first place Link thought to look was in the town square. Lots of people were passing by the very tree he met Quinn. “Hmmm… Quinn, bark at that tree.”

“Okay. Bark! BARK! BARK BARK!” As Link suspected, a head poked up from the snow on the tree. A pair of red eyes looked down at the puppy, and an owl Rito flapped down to ground level. “Yaaaaawn. I was having the nicest dream, too. Meen, is that you? Hoo? Wait, you’re a different Minish.”

“Yes, Evan sent me. Go meet him at the park.”

“Hokay. Yawn, I hope he brewed tea.” With that, Nighlo flapped away.

“Hey, it’s you again!” yelled the teen Minish from before. “Was that Rito a friend of yours?”

“Wait… if he thought I was Meen…” Link said to himself quietly. He then said to the teenager, “Hey, is your name Meen?”

“Huh? That’s my sister’s name. How would you know her?”

“Well… I’m kind of looking for her.”

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re with that Evan brat.” The boy sighed. “He rescued my sister from a spider-web once and now she’s head over heels for him. She uses him to scare our classmates and make herself popular. Sigh… If you’re looking for her, I can’t imagine where else she’d be besides under his hat.”

Link smirked, proceeding to steer Quinn back to the park. The other members of his crew were gathered in a semicircle, and they looked to see the puppy returning. “Well, you found them faster than I thought.” Evan said. “But you’re still one short, Squirt. We ain’t helpin’ you unless you find Meen.”

“You wanna take your hood off and say that?” Link asked.

“And what if I don’t?”

“I’ll make this dog jump up and yank it off!”

“…Heh. You are kinda smart.” Evan took off his hood, revealing a little Minish girl in his hair.

“Brr-r-r-r-r. Evan, it’s cold! Do I have to come out now?”

“All right! All members of the Bomber Pirates are all present and accounted for! Mates, this little Minish wants ta go see the old lady.”

“You mean Dr. Purah?” Sipha asked. “Why does he want to see her?”

“Beats me. He’s got a problem or something.”

“Yes, I do.” Link replied in annoyance. “I’m a human that’s been turned into a Minish.”

“GOROK?!” Gork nearly choked in surprise. “Y-You’re a h-human?!”

“Yaaaawn… I don’t believe it.” Nighlo rubbed his right eye.

“Clearly the work of some kind of voodoo.” Evan said. “It couldn’t be more obvious that THIS is tied to the freezing of the entire ocean!”

“That’s a wild accusation to make!” Sipha exclaimed.

“I have complete trust in Evan!” Meen proclaimed lovingly.

“Do you think this ‘Dr. Purah’ person can help?” Link asked.

“I don’t know.” Evan said. “You can go ask her if you want. The thing is, her lab is on a separate island. We usually take a secret passage in the sewer to get there. It’d be kinda tough getting there on your own…”

“Why don’t you just ask Nighlo to carry him there?” Sipha asked. “He is a Rito.”

“Uh… Yeah, you got a point. Alright, Nighlo, lend the little squirt a hand.”

“Yaaaawn… do I have to?”

“WAKE THE HECK UP!” Evan angrily smacked the owl across the face. “Honestly, Purah’s island is just half a mile away! You can carry him there, THEN take a nap!”

“Okay, okay.” Nighlo withdrew an Empty Bottle and held it down for Link. “I’m ready when you are.”

 _I have to ride in an Empty Bottle?_ Link remembered all the fairies he captured. “Siiiigh… Well, bye, Quinn. Thanks for the help.”

“Arf!” the puppy barked as Link climbed into the bottle.

Nighlo stuck the bottle in his pocket and stretched his wings. He took flight above the buildings and soared to a tall, pillar-like island. (Play “Hateno Ancient Lab” from _Breath of the Wild_!)

“Yaaaaawn…” Nighlo’s eyes were growing more heavy. Just as he was about to land on the island, the Rito sunk.

“H-Hey! Nighlo! You’re sinking! HEY!” Nighlo crashed on a ledge at the base of the island. Knocking himself fast to sleep, his bottle rolled out of his pocket and on its side. The Minish Link struggled to push the cork off, but he was able to and escaped. “Ugh!” He passed an annoyed glare to Nighlo’s slumbering face.

Ayri jumped out. _“Master Link, this island’s unique spiral geography provides us a path in which to make our ascent to the laboratory. Our second option is to wait for Nighlo to awaken, so he may carry us.”_

“Yeah… not worth my time.” And with that, Link began to follow the wide, winding path. A cluster of pebbles blocked his path—pebbles that were the size of boulders. They all had two more boulders behind them, except for one, which Link was able to push aside. Link reached a dead end in the path (mountain-sized rocks that his human self could easily pick up), but there were tiny vines along the wall that led higher. Link climbed and switched between them to reach the higher path.

Link still couldn’t get very far as a large cliff with a tunnel impeded his path. Link’s tiny heart nearly stopped at the sight of a gigantic rat poking its head out. The rat was quick to pounce out, wanting nothing more than to feast, but Link flipped back, then leapt onto its nose, tugging the beast’s fur. The rat “NEIGHED” like a horse, following Link’s command as it leapt above its tunnel and scampered up the path. Link had to force the rat to leap gaps in the road with excellent timing, and they were soon able to reach the top of the island.

The laboratory appeared to be a tall, high-tech house with a gigantic telescope sticking out of the roof. Clouds began to fill the skies and snow descended. “Now’s as good a time as any to get inside, I guess.” Link spotted a tiny hole in the bottom of the lab’s doorway. He steered his rat closer, then hopped off to go inside.

The second Link entered the lab, “WAAAAH!” A massive red eyeball that enveloped the ceiling was gazing into his soul.

“Yo, li’l munchkin!” It was actually a glass eyepiece magnifying the eye, attached to a mechanical rod on the person’s head. She was a 6-year-old girl with a large head and white hair, wore a white coat with a black skirt, and her short legs had black stockings going into black shoes. Her large red glasses had eyelashes on them. “I didn’t mean to make ya go freaky-deaky! But you ain’t s’posed to be bargin’ into my crib like no mama’s business!”

“. . . . .” Link hadn’t the first clue of what this girl was saying.

“What’s up, dog? They something crazy on my face?”

Link shook his head. “Kid, I’m looking for someone named Dr. Purah. Does she live here?”

“That ain’t none of yo’ hornet’s wax!” yelled the girl, her magnifying glass moving in front of her eye again. “Now you better git before I sweep you in the… HUUUUUUU!” She made an earsplitting gasp that stunned Link senseless. “What’s that on your hip?! Is that a SHEIKAH SLATE?!”

“Wah! Hey!” The girl caught Link between her fingers and lifted him to eye level, letting him stand on her thumb as the magnifier zoomed in.

“Snap! It really is a Sheikah Slate! You can’t find these anywhere nowadays! You gotta tell me where you found it!”

“Not until YOU tell me where Dr. Purah is!”

“Okay, okay, fine.” The girl carried Link to a table and set him down. “Wait here. I’ll be right back with her.” The girl turned. Then she whipped back around with her fingers positioned like scissors over her eyes. “Check it! I’M Dr. Purah!”

“Uh… What? Those guys told me you were an old lady.”

“You must mean Evan’s group.” She shook her head. “They really need to learn some manners. In truth, I am at the ripe old age of 120! But just last week, I was visited by this girl in a mask. She hit me with some kind of dark spell. When I woke up the next morning, I was 20 years younger! And then the next night, I was 80 years old, and then 60, then 40! Now, you’re looking at the body of a 6-year-old woman.” Purah sighed. “I have no choice but to grow up all over again. If I’m ever going to fit in with society, I have to learn all the lingo that kids today are speaking. Ya dig?”

“What does this girl look like? Was she wearing a weird mask?”

“Oh, yes, as a matter of fact. It’s a purple mask with glowing blue eyes. When she walked into my lab, a furious blizzard blew in behind her, and she herself looked like she had frostbite. It was whickety-whack, yo.”

“I knew it. Dr. Purah, I was cursed by that masked girl, too. I was a human, but she transformed me into a Minish.”

“I see.” Purah drew a notepad and pencil. “‘Minish visitor appears to have identity crisis.’” she wrote.

“What?!”

“Sorry. I have a tendency to take notes on curious visitors. …You know, you never told me where you found that Sheikah Slate.”

“I just found it in the middle of the frozen ocean. Do you how much these things sell for?”

“SELL IT?!” She nearly deafened Link again. “There’s nothing more rare and more valuable in all the sea! It’s FAR too valuable to sell! How could you even THINK of doing that?! Like, it’s the BOMB, yo! Did you even BEGIN to make use of its limitless functions?!”

“You mean like its camera and information updates every five seconds?”

“Well, yeah, those, but what about its Digi-Weapons?”

 _“Due to unknown errors, my Digi-Weapons are absent from my databanks.”_ Ayri responded. _“Also, Master, if you would like to sell me, I estimate you will earn a 100,000 Rupee profit.”_

“Interesting.” Purah jotted a note down. “‘Minish appears to have defect Sheikah Slate.’ You know, I may have a way to fix it. I constructed this lab using the same technology as the slate.”

 _“Scans indicate that the laboratory’s technology is an inferior version of Sheikah Tech.”_ Ayri said.

Purah took a note, “‘Sheikah Slate uses snazzy remarks to make up for defective programming.’ Anyway, the problem is, my machine won’t work for a Sheikah Slate so small.”

“I’m gonna be stuck this way for the rest of my life.” Link sighed, beginning to doubt any kind of help this woman can provide.

“And thus, our Minish guest with an identity crisis sinks into a deep depression due to shame for his heritage.” Purah said, observing him through a magnifying glass. “Oh? That’s a funny looking hat you have there.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“It has a cute little bird head on it! Hee hee!”

“What?” Link grabbed the tip of his cap and pulled it in front of him. “Euh!” he yelped, realizing his cap had a beak and eyes. “That’s not what my cap is supposed to look like.” Link pulled it off for a better inspection. “WAAAAH!” In a flash of light, he sprouted back to his normal size and form, losing balance on the table and falling on the floor.

“OH, SNAP!” exclaimed Purah.

“Ow…” Link got to his feet and rubbed his head. He picked up his cap, which still had the beak and eyes. “You mean all I had to do was take my hat off? And here I thought I would have to learn a magic song or something…”

**You got the _Minish Cap_! You don’t know exactly what this is, but wearing it will turn you into a Minish. As a Minish, you can go into small places and ride certain animals! Certain enemies and people also won’t be able to see you (unless you transform right in front of them).**

“‘And thus, the gods saw the plight in the race-confused Minish and decided to grant his wish.’” Purah wrote down.

“Will you knock it off with that?!”

“Sorry! But hey, this makes our job a hundred times easier. Follow me upstairs.” Purah led Link up a small staircase to a second floor of the room. She brought him to a small device on a table that had a slot just big enough for the Sheikah Slate and made of the same technology. “This is the device I was telling you about. I designed it based off of old blueprints. It’s meant to clean up any cluttered codes in the Sheikah Slate. I call it the Sheikah 64!”

Upon closer inspection of the device, Link couldn’t help but feel there was something familiar about its design. “So, I just put the Sheikah Slate in here?”

“Of course! Put it in with a bold SNAP!” She snapped her fingers.

“Heh heh! Okay!” Link forced the slate in the S64 and- “SNAP!”

“Eh… it goes in the other way.”

Embarrassed, Link took it out and switched sides. “Snap.”

The Sheikah Slate began to glow blue as codes traveled up along it from the S64. After a few more seconds, the code seemed to pop! into scattered droplets. Link pulled the slate out as Ayri gracefully flipped out. _“Databanks have been cleared. Option for Emotion Select is now available. Option for Costume Select is now available. Still unable to detect Digi-Weapons.”_

“CHECK IT!” snapped Purah. “That’s what I’m talkin’ about, ya dig?”

Link opened the Costume Select on his slate. There were numerous different costumes and hairstyles that he could try on Ayri. With a smile, he gave Ayri some stacked hair, then tomboy hair, then question mark hair. He changed her dress to that of a princess, then a bikini, a dress of large leaves, then a ragged dress. _“Please fit me with whatever style you believe suits me.”_

“Heh heh!” Link decided to switch her back to the default style for now. Then, he curiously opened the Emotion Select. There were several expressions to pick from. Link clicked Happy.

 _“Hee hee hee! Well, if you would like me to be happy, I guess I will! Ha ha!”_ Ayri laughed. Link shared the laugh and clicked Sad. _“Sniff, sniff. O-Okay, Master… i-if you really think I should, then I’ll be sad… sniff, sniff.”_ And she started bawling. Link frowned and clicked Greed. _“Heh heh heh! I wonder if any of those townspeople are rich? You think they’d lend us a few Rupees? Heh heh heh.”_

Link chuckled and switched her back to Happy. _“Hee hee hee! Emotions sure feel funny, Master!”_

“Heh heh! Well, she’ll be a lot more fun to play with now!” (End song.)

Ayri buzzed and gasped. “Master, my weather alert indicates there’s a massive storm coming! It sounds fun! Can we go out and see it?”

“Uh-oh. Dr. Purah, I just remembered, someone is asleep outside; a Rito boy. I think we should bring him in.” Link said, hurrying downstairs.

“Hey, my lab isn’t an inn, you know!”

The second Link stepped outside, he was met with the furious blizzard. It felt no different than the storm that swept him away before. “Grr! I can’t see a thing! WAH!” The wind suddenly increased in velocity, and Link would have been swept away again had he not grabbed onto the door.

Dr. Purah reached a mechanical claw to grab Link and pull him back in, then shut the door. “I recognize this storm from before. You won’t be able to survive out there.”

“But what about Nighlo?!”

“Rito can survive the cold. Bring your Sheikah Slate upstairs, I want to try something.” Link followed her upstairs again as Purah brought him to the giant telescope. “This is my Sheikah Scope! It can see for miles, but not in a storm like this. But I think that may change if we insert the Sheikah Slate!”

Link stuck the slate into another open slot. Purah climbed on a small stool to reach and see through the telescope. “Waaaah!” She lost balance and fell. “Boooo! That thing is so hard to move when you’re like this!”

“Let me try.” Link looked into the telescope. Despite the raging winds, Link had a very clear view of Clockwork Island, thanks to the slate’s enhancement. A small, glowing blue figure was descending onto the island. Link zoomed in and quickly discovered who it was: the frostbitten girl in the dark mask. “It’s her… and… what is she holding?” The girl was swinging a white baton. “It’s… THE WIND WAKER! Purah, I need to get back to Clockwork Island!”

“The only other way there is to take the sewer passage.” Purah replied, standing up and brushing off. “The one those little brats use.”

Link quickly grabbed the Sheikah Slate and rushed downstairs, pulling open the sewer hatch in the center of the floor. “Thanks, Dr. Purah.” Link hopped in.

“Snap!” Purah winked at the camera and made her signature pose.

_That mask… it looked just like… Majora’s. But this can’t be when Link fought him, could it?_

 

**At first, I wanted to keep the ‘silent Link’ thing going, but then I just couldn’t… for more reasons than one. Also, the Minish are such an underrated race in the _Zelda_ series, I just had to add them in this story (even though they’re very common in my main series).**


	3. The Ancient Lion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link must stop the masked girl from swallowing Clockwork Island in a blizzard!

**Did I forget to mention what a GREAT year 2017 was? It was the rebirth of 3-D collectathons! _Breath of the Wild_ , _Yooka-Laylee_ , _Hat in Time_ , _Mario Odyssey_! Not to mention the finale of _Fairy Tail_ and Seven Lights Saga, plus _Little Witch Academia_! Ah, what a good year to be a geek.**

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Chapter 3: The Ancient Lion

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**Clockwork Sewers**

Link descended a ladder and soon touched the floor of the sewer. As he expected, the water was frozen down here as well, icicles on the ceiling. What caught his eye was a door that was sealed with a code terminal, but he would investigate that later.

The ice withstood Link’s weight as he walked across, having to avoid the usual falling icicles. There were several platforms along the ice that Link chose to go across to avoid slipping. He came to a short frozen waterfall with no way to climb up. Partway back, there was a block with the symbol of the mask on all sides. Link could push the block to the waterfall and use it as a boost to climb up it. However, the block would slide over the ice with each push, so Link had to navigate it around the platforms to get to the waterfall.

He was able to bring it across and climb up. Link took his next step on the ice, but the river immediately began to crack. _“Ha ha ha! This ice looks a little more unstable, Master! If you aren’t careful, you could fall in and freeze!”_ Ayri said happily.

“But there’s nothing to stand on. Sigh, if I was a Minish again… Wait…” Link pulled out the Minish Cap. Curious, he stuck it back on his head. “AAAH!” A painful sensation overcame him, as if the cap was squeezing his brain. His ears grew longer, his pupils grew and inflated, and a feather tail grew from his rear. As the transformation transpired, Link’s body was compressed down to Minish size. “Ahh… hey… it worked…”

_“Hee hee hee! I never realized how cute you were in this form, Master!”_

“Heh heh… at least I’m light enough to cross this ice.” Of course, due to all the cracks, Link had to move around a maze of sorts. He made it to a solid platform and could return to normal size. Following more platforms across the river, he reached a tall pillar. Behind that pillar was another frozen waterfall. Link could turn into a Minish and go into an open gap between the bricks. He could climb his way up a path within the bricks and reach the top of the pillar. Sitting there was nothing but a rock (which first came off as a mountain to the Minish). Link took off the cap and lifted the rock.

“WAH!” He fell back in fright when a Korok sprung up on a spring.

 _“YA HA HA! You FOUND me! Find 900 Koroks across the sea and we’ll give you a golden turd! TWEE HEE HEE!”_ It spun around and presented said golden item, Link pinching his nose shut from the smell. The Korok sparked, shook, and exploded.

 _“As if the idea of those creatures could be any more ludicrous!”_ Link saw a projected image on the wall ahead. It depicted a man wearing a black suit decorated with golden puzzle pieces, baring a staff with a puzzle piece for a head, along with a puzzle piece mask. _“Ah, now what have we here? Pointed cap, green clothes? Why, you must be the famed ‘Hero of Time’ I’ve heard tales about. A savior of worlds, destroyer of monsters, explorer of temples… HA HA HA HA! A mere boy with mere average intelligence!”_

“Yeah, well what are YOU supposed to be?” Link shouted.

_“I am your one true nemesis, ‘Hero.’ My name is Anton, but you may call me The Puzzler! And no one boggles the mind like me, fair Hero! And YOU are just in time to take my first test! You won’t be leaving this room until you have.”_

“I don’t have time for this! There’s a storm outside, Clockwork Island is in danger! YOU’RE in danger!”

_“Au contraire, I am safe in a remote location. I’m not sure what YOU plan to do about this storm, but a hero who listens to Courage before Wisdom is as good as nothing. So, before I let you have a chance to call yourself this island’s savior, you must prove you have the brains to escape this room.”_

“Grrr… Fine. What do I have to do?”

 _“In the area before you are four blocks whose top parts form an image. All you must do is put the correct pieces together. It’s so simple, even a Korok could do it. Mwuh huh huh huh!”_ Rolling his eyes, Link jumped down and began to push the four blocks in question. The blocks would actually flip with each push, making the puzzle a tad more complicated. Regardless, Link was able to put the images together, forming a picture of a familiar boy with snot dripping from his nose. _“Congratulations, you have passed the preliminary test. You have earned your first Puzzle Trophy. I expect nothing short of your best as you search for the other 99, mwah hah hah!”_

The exit opened, and behind it was a trophy of a golden puzzle piece. “Well, here’s a side quest I’m going to neglect.”

_Side Quest: A Puzzling Conundrum: Find all 100 Puzzle Trophies and locate this masked mastermind._

Beyond there, Link could follow a straight passage that would lead him to a ladder. The sewer hatch at the top had little snow bits dripping from it. Link climbed up and had to give a few forceful pushes before the lid came off. He was exposed to the powerful winds and nearly blinded by the raging snows. Squinting his eyes, he could make out a treasure chest flying toward him. “WAH!”

“GORO!” Gork rolled up and knocked the chest away with his stronger stone body. The Goron uncurled and asked, “I don’t know why you were in that sewer, but you should probably get back inside!”

“No! I need to… stop that girl!”

“You don’t mean that girl in the sky, do you? Is she the one causing this storm?”

“Yes, and I think she’s using that baton to make it worse. I need to get up to her somehow!”

“She should be above the town square. I can help you get there, but trying to catch her is a different story. Goooor! I need to stay curled up or else I can’t move well! You’ll have to push me!”

The Goron curled up again, and by staying behind him, Link was somewhat safe from the wind. He struggled to push the Goron against the wind, and the flying treasure chests crashing into him made it worse. It took a few minutes for Link to reach the road to Town Square, and the wind circled at that point, convenient so Link could change position behind Gork. There was a narrow twister in the square, and it led straight up to the masked girl.

“HEY! Girl in the mask! Give back my Wind Waker!”

The girl faintly heard his voice and looked down. “Oh… it’s that green boy again. I knew I should’ve used more magic to make the cap stick.” She lowered down slightly. “Go away, Green Boy! The Wind Waker doesn’t belong to you. This is a holy baton that has the power to control the weather. Who better to possess it than a goddess such as myself? Until now, my power was only limited to ice. But with this, I can conjure storms that shatter mountains, summers that dry oceans, autumns that decay… Mark my words, this Winter Apocalypse is just the beginning!”

“But why?! Why would you want to do any of this? Can’t you see you’re hurting people?!”

“I’m taking back what’s rightfully mine! My mother’s dream was to be one with the weather, but you wretched mortals took her away. Know that every frigid gust is imbued with her RAGE!” The wind grew stronger as Link was nearly swept off his feet, watching as the girl hovered higher.

The hero fought toward the center of the cyclone, directly under the girl as the wind no longer blew him. “If she was any lower, I could spring you up!” Gork shouted. “But I can’t shoot you that high!”

“I have one more idea… but it’ll be tricky to pull off.” With that, Link put the Minish Cap on. Gork gaped as the human shrunk down into a Minish form and was sucked up the cyclone like a vacuum. “WHOOOOOAAAA!” Link was growing dizzy, whirling around the windy tunnel, unable to determine his current altitude. He was able to see the girl swooping past his vision, so Link pulled off the Minish Cap, dropped, and GRABBED the girl.

Link smashed her against the ground and swiped the Wind Waker from her hand.

**You got the Wind Waker back! This legendary baton has the power to control the wind! You also remember all the songs you learned, instead of just magically forgetting them!**

“Only one thing to do now!” Link conducted the Wind’s Requiem and willed the storm to blow away from town. Though the sky remained cloudy, the townspeople could have a moment of rest. “Sigh… well, that solves that conflict.”

“Hold on, Brother!” Gork said, mouth still agape. “Just now… you turned into a Minish!”

“Oh… hehe.” Link smiled sheepishly. “To be honest, I don’t know the details mys-”

The girl blasted Link away with ice and was back on her feet. Link crashed against the clock tower, frozen up to his head. The girl rose back to the sky and positioned her hands a few inches from each other. Blue sparkles appeared between them and formed into a Wind Waker made of ice. “It doesn’t matter if I have the real one… as long as I remember its shape and density, a copy will work just fine.” She waved the copy around and called back the storm.

“A copy…?” Link spoke weakly, the impact making his head go numb. “Impossible… ugh.” The world went black for the hero.

_A boy with chestnut-colored hair and a red jacket was seen adrift in the darkness, observing Link’s unconscious form. The hero came to and gasped at seeing the stranger. “Who are you?”_

_The boy was taken aback. “…You can see me?”_

_“Yes…”_

_“Huh… Well, this is a surprise.” He scratched his head sheepishly. “My name is Cheren. You don’t know me, but I’m kind of ‘you’ from another world.”_

_“Okay? And why are you here?”_

_“I came to observe you. In fact, I’m a bit curious about that masked girl myself.”_

_“Well, I think that girl is about to kill me, so if you don’t mind…”_

_“Wait! I think I know a way to stop her. Although I think doing so would be interfering with the past…”_

_“I’m FREEZING OVER HERE!”_

_“Okay, okay! Er, uh,” Cheren felt around his person, “Hat Kid! Open that drawer, is there a flute?” A few seconds later, a gold pan flute appeared in his hand. “Perfect! Link, play this song.” He put the flute to his mouth and played a six-note melody._

Link awoke just as Gork was tearing him free of the ice. “It didn’t work, Brother. Let’s just get out of here.”

“Not, yet!” Link lightly pushed him off and marched toward the girl again. “I have one more thing to try.” He stopped a short distance away from the masked one and directed the Wind Waker like so: left, right, down, left, right, down. The majestic voice of an angel echoed from the baton, humming the song.

“AAAAH!” the girl screamed, clasping her head when an unbearable ringing vibrated in her ears. “That song… it’s that song again! Quick! Get out of here, Avis!” The girl spun a sphere of snow around herself, and by the time it was gone, she had vanished. The storm began to calm again.

Once Link confirmed that the danger was over, he took a well-deserved sigh of relief. “I just wanted to have a nice, normal day of sleeping. Is that too much to ask?”

“GORO!” The answer was “yes,” for Gork had roll-tackled Link onto the ground. “Brother, I’ve seen a lot of weird things before, but NONE are weirder than what you just did!”

“Gork, there you are!” Link saw the Zora girl, Sipha to his right in his upside-down vision. “Evan was worried about you, come on!” Gork got off Link and rolled after his friend, and Link chose to accompany.

In the town’s playground, Evan was half buried in the snow, shivering terribly and clattering his teeth. His mittens were clutched firmly on the edge of his hood. “He was afraid to move because he was protecting Meen.” Sipha said. “Poor guy is frostbitten!”

The Minish girl in question climbed down from Evan’s hood to his nose. “Evan, I’m so sorry! If only I wasn’t such a nuisance, you could’ve gone somewhere safe.”

“Quit whining, Meen! Just be happy you weren’t swe-…eh…ACHOO!” Meen flew away from the force of his sneeze, but Sipha caught her.

“Let’s take him to the Stock Pot Inn and get him some soup.” Gork suggested.

“No! Nighlo still hasn’t come back, yet. We gotta go to the old lady’s lab and see if he…he…ACHOO!”

“Look, I’ll go and check on Nighlo.” Link offered. “You just warm yourself up.”

“And who’re you supposed to be?”

“I’m the Minish kid from earlier. See?” Link put the Minish Cap on, and they were awestruck to see him transform.

“Th-Th-Then… you really WERE a human!” Evan said.

“That was the COOLEST thing ever!” Sipha beamed, resisting the urge to fist-pump with Meen in her hand.

“That ain’t all he can do!” Gork said. “Tell ’em how you stopped the blizzard!”

Link changed back. “Maybe later, guys. Be back soon!” With that, he was off to the sewer hatch.

**Purah’s Laboratory**

Dr. Purah had lain Nighlo to rest beside her fireplace. “You weren’t expecting me to give him my bed, were you?” asked the child doctor. “His feathers would’ve gotten everywhere.”

“At least he’s okay. But I have no idea where that girl escaped to. If she comes back, I guess I could try playing the song again, but what if she’s attacking other parts of the ocean?”

“You played a song to stop her?” Purah inquired.

“Yeah, it went like this.” Link conducted the same song, the heavenly voice singing from the Wind Waker.

Ayri jumped out of the Sheikah Slate. _“Master, my data reads that that is the Song of Healing!”_ she spoke sprightly. _“It’s a magical song that can heal disheartened souls! There’s an old legend that says people turn into masks when they hear this song; that sounds so fun!”_

“Maybe I’ll turn the emotions off for now.” Link said.

“You know, that song actually sounds really familiar.” Purah said, stroking her chin. “Yeah… a few days ago, a traveling salesman visited my lab. He was a mask salesman, and he said he was looking for a very rare mask. He played that same song on a little handheld organ.”

“The Mask Salesman?” Link mumbled, at the same time hearing another voice in his head. _Wait, why did I say that like I know who it is?_ “Can you tell me more about this man?”

“Well, he had a real freaky grin, a purple outfit, and orange hair. The last thing he said before leaving was, ‘Maybe I’ll check Picori Island.’ Of course, the sea was already frozen by that time, and I doubt he had a Sheikah Sailor!” she chortled.

“A Sheikah what?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I found an ancient ship on the seafloor a while back, and even though I fixed it up, it still needs a _power soooouuu…”_ Purah’s eyes were drawn into the slate on Link’s belt.

“Uhhhh…”

Purah SNATCHED the slate and dashed into the sewer. “HEY!” Link chased her down and watched as she inputted a code to the terminal he noticed before, opening the door beside it.

Link followed her to a large room where a ship was at dock in a pool. It was slightly bigger than the _S.S. Linebeck_ and made of the same material as the Sheikah Slate. “You didn’t think I forgot about you, huh baby?” Purah reached over the edge of the moat and hugged the ship. “This poor boat must be thousands of years old. I fixed what little damages she had and enabled her to float again, but she just wouldn’t float. …But if you insert the Sheikah Slate into the slot at the helm, that just may change. Well, go on. DO IT!” She shoved the slate back into Link’s hands.

They both climbed onto the deck as Link noticed the steering wheel and the empty slot behind it. Link stuffed the slate into the slot, and Ayri jumped to the keel. _“Restoring power to Sheikah Sailor. Activating headlights. Activating ice-cutters. Activating paddles. Ready to ship off when you are, Captain.”_

Orange lights came on around the edges of the ship (in the form of ancient letters), blue lights lit up the cabin, headlights at the bow, and at the base of the bow were electric beams. “So begins the maiden voyage of the _S.S. Purah_.” the scientist said, going to a lever on the port. “SNAP!” The room began to shake and rise, breaching the ice on the surface. The shutters opened, exposing the vessel to the open, frozen seas. “The beams at the front were specifically designed to cut through frozen waters. With this, you’ll have no trouble finding where that girl has run.”

“Ha ha ha! This is amazing! …Eh, but I’m not calling it the _S.S. Purah_. How about… the _Iron Lion_!”

“It’s not iron, it’s Sheikah Tech.”

“Fine, the _Ancient Lion_!”

“You don’t get to name her, she’s MY boat!”

“ _Ancient Lion_ it is! Ayri, set a course for Picori Isla-… actually, let’s pick somebody up real quick.”

**Stock Pot Inn**

Link found the inn that Evan’s group mentioned earlier. Stock Pot Inn: Providing service to weary travellers for 1,000 years. With Nighlo’s tired form hung over his shoulders, Link entered the inn and saw the Bomber Pirates seated on the lobby couch, with Evan drinking a bowl of hot soup. The kids looked over and were happy to see their missing friend.

“Oh, Brother.” Gork shook his head. “How can anyone sleep through all that?”

“Dr. Purah helped protect him.” Link said, resting the Rito in the corner.

“I don’t know who or even what you are, Outsider, but I guess we owe you a lot.” Evan said. “I talked it over with the crew, and we decided you more than earned a spot in our ranks. Give ’im the notebook, Gork.” The Goron presented Link a yellow notebook with a Jolly Roger of a red bomb and crossbones.

**You got the _Bombers’ Notebook_! Use this to keep track of your side quests and rewards!**

“There’s a lot of people ’round these islands that have problems. We document all the people we help in that. This might be wishful thinking, but I bet someone like you could fill that notebook whole. You gonna stick around town?”

“I’m afraid I can’t. I’m planning to track that girl down, and I’m going to Picori Island first.”

“Picori Island?” Meen spoke up. “That’s where the Minish live! If that girl is going there, they’ll never stand a chance!”

“I won’t let that happen!” Link declared assuringly. “Count on it!”

“He he he! You sound like you know what you’re doing.” Sipha giggled. “Hey, since you helped Nighlo, we’ll give you something for your troubles.” She walked over and searched the Rito’s pockets. “Good, he still has it. I’m sure he won’t mind if you have it.” She gave Link the Empty Bottle he had been carried in before.

**You got an _Empty Bottle_! Use this to carry water, fairies, and other items! It’s also good for any seafaring Minish! …But you should probably stick to your boat.**

“Hee hee hee! Why do you do that every time you pick something up?” Sipha asked.

“Uh… It’s a quirk of mine. Heh heh.” Link blushed.

“It’s cute!”

“Well… I guess I’ll see you guys later.”

“You, too, uh… what’s your name again?” Evan asked.

“It’s Link.”

“Link… do us a favor, would ya? If you find whoever’s behind this weather, rip that mask off her face and give her a good punch to the face!”

“You got detention for doing that!” Gork shouted.

“That twerp had it comin’!”

“Ha ha ha! I’ll do just that, Evan!”

The Bombers gathered at the dock, watching as Link set sail on his _Ancient Lion_. The ship cut perfectly across the frozen surface. _“Ahoy! The wind be takin’ us to the south, Cap’n!”_ Ayri spoke with a pirate personality. _“Thar, Picori Island be our destination! We shall arrive by sundown, aye?”_

“Ha ha ha! Full speed ahead, first mate!” Link said, feeling more joyful than ever. No matter what happened, the memory of his new friends filled him with positive spirits. He felt this was going to be a fun journey.

**In a different world, in a different time**

Cheren Uno took off Hat Kid’s hat and stretched his arms. “Uuuuwaaaaaaahhh. Being Link sure is exhausting. Especially when your real body goes all numb.”

“So, did you find out anything interesting?” Hat Kid asked.

“No doubt, that girl is drawing power from her mask… but I haven’t determined if that mask is the Newborn or not. If it is, then Majora definitely had a hand in breeding it.”

“But if you know who the Mask Man is, why don’t you go ask him yourself?”

“What would be the fun in that? It’s better to learn as much as we can first-hand. But first, let’s go eat.” He gave the hat back and raced down to the kitchen, his friend following eagerly.

****

**Now loading…  
Bomber Pirates mission…**

 **Operation: F.R.O.Z.E.N.**

 **Frozen  
Realms  
Obviously  
Zany  
Entity’s  
Niche**

**Loading Transmission…**

**I hate the Koroks. Do me a favor, if you ever see a Korok, shoot it in the face with a flamethrower. Hell, I didn’t even like Makar. His gameplay sucked and his character development was poor. Minish are a thousand times cooler and cuter. So, next time, we will truly begin the adventure and go to the first world.**


	4. Picori Island

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link and Ayri sail to Picori Island and head to Minish Village.

**Zelda Rule #37: Always start with a forest world. …Unless you’re _Wind Waker_. XD**

****

**_

Chapter 4: Picori Island

_**

****

**Terminan Sea**

The sky was partly cloudy as twilight began to shine on the frozen sea. Link was leisurely steering the ship, sailing through the ice as if it were liquid, albeit having to maneuver around mini icebergs (the ice-cutters could only cut surface-level ice). Link decided to try outfits on Ayri, fitting her with smaller pigtails, a dress with flowers, and sandals. He set the personality to ‘Playful.’ _“So, Link, do I really look like your sister? Huh, do I?”_

“You’re a spitting image, Ayri!”

_“I guess this means I gotta call you Big Brother now! Do I get to pull pranks and take your toys?”_

“That sounds great, Ayri!” Link said with a chuckle. He sighed and looked out at the sea. He hadn’t seen his little sister in two years. They had barely spent any time together before he left, and it didn’t help that she was kidnapped on his birthday. No doubt, he wanted Ayri to look like Aryll to fill in the void in his heart. “I would like to see her, too, Link.” He spoke with his twin voices. “Wait, what?!”

 _“Hey, Link, you talkin’ to no one?”_ Ayri surprised him from behind. _“Look, we’re almost there! See? It’s Picori Island!”_ Before them was a vast jungle island with mushrooms that outgrew the trees. The ice was melted around the island, but the water was a sickly purple. _“Scans indicate poisonous water surrounding the island. Our Sheikah Sailor can withstand the poison, but it’s not a good place for a swim, huh?”_

They sailed down a river leading into the island and parked at a dock. At first glance, the jungle had very exotic plants and large fruits growing on the trees. The fruits had the same sickly purple color as the water. _“Picori Island is the homeland of all the Minish on the Terminan Sea, named after their tribal language. Sailors come here in search of the rich, organic foods produced by the Minish. At least, that’s what my data says. But those fruits don’t look very tasty to me, Link.”_

“Yeah, something is wrong here. Maybe some of the locals can tell us.” (Play “Forgotten Isle 2” from _Super Mario Odyssey_!)

 

_Stage 3: Picori Island_

_Mission: Find the Minish Village._

The way forward was blocked by a giant spider-web that was so thick, even Link’s sword couldn’t cut it. However, he could easily turn into a Minish and go under the web. Beyond it was a toxic river with decaying lilipads. The sides of the river had no room to walk. “Sigh, life would be so much easier if I could climb whatever cliff I felt like.”

 _“Link, look at that big bug!”_ Ayri pointed left at a “giant” caterpillar with colored segments that was stretching over and back across the river. Link took a picture of it. _“That’s a Tropical Wiggler. The Minish have trained them to serve as ‘Stoplights of the Jungle’ to keep intruders from finding their home. They have the unique ability to stretch across long gaps. Hey, I bet you can use him to cross those lilipads!”_

“My thoughts exactly!” Link waited until the man-size Wiggler crossed over to their side and jumped onto its nose. The happy caterpillar crossed its eyes to see the little guy and tried to “follow” him. Link stepped left and right to make him change direction. From this shore, the lilipads were too decayed for the Wiggler to step on, but there were small enclosings along the right cliff for him to stretch around to. When those ended, Link could then steer him onto the lilipads, quickly making his way up the river.

The Wiggler stretched onto a shore, and Link had to become human again to climb a short ledge. He was at a small field where a purple Chuchu was chasing a group of Minish. _“Be careful, Link! That’s a Toxichu. It’ll burst into poison gas if you kill it.”_

“Alright, then I won’t use my sword.” Link noticed a rock by a corner and went to pick it up. He threw it at the Toxichu and killed it, the Minish outrunning its toxic cloud.

 _“Pici pici, piciri! PICIIII!”_ The Minish cheered at their savior, but Link had no idea what they were saying. To show their gratitude, they skittered over to a garden and set to work, growing giant purple plums. Of course, this purple was a natural color, and the plums weren’t poisonous. Link noticed two pointed posts leading up to a new path, and the plums were big enough for him to pick up and throw onto the posts. He climbed on the shorter one and jumped to the taller, then could climb to the path. 

There was a monkey swinging overhead, and it and another monkey seemed to be throwing a banana back and forth. Since the path was at a dead end, Link had to become a Minish and climb on a mushroom that would spring him up. He grabbed onto the banana and was thrown to the other monkey, and then he could drop onto a pile of banana peels. He reverted to human form, disgusted by the peels, for they were sick with the purple poison.

Link shortly arrived at another river within a gorge, with only a long, Minish-size bridge to take him across. He changed back into the smaller form and made the race across. _“CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP!”_ A Skullfish jumped out of the river and SNAPPED the bridge in its teeth. Link screamed and fell, landing on the bonefish’s head for safety. Link got between its eyes and tricked the Skullfish into following him, making it swim toward a safe ledge. Link quickly took off the Minish Cap and jumped onto the ledge. He could climb some natural stairs to reach the path.

Link discovered a strange stone with an eye symbol. _“Link, look! That’s a Sheikah Warp! It’s designed for users of the Sheikah Slate to teleport. Hold the slate up to its eye to activate it.”_ Link did so as the stone’s eye flashed blue. The stone’s lines glowed blue, as did the round pad in front of it. _“You can now select Picori Island as a warp point. And you know what’s even cooler? The Sheikah Sailor is designed to teleport to your location, too!”_

“I gotta admit, Ayri, this is probably the best item I ever picked up.”

_“I’m glad you think so, Link!”_

The hero walked around a snaking path before spotting a huge wooden wall, but three Tropical Wigglers stretched in the path with the intent to block him. He decided to head back so they would retract, and had no choice but to make the longer journey as a Minish. He found two Minish guards standing outside the tiny hole in the wall. “Hello there! Could you tell me what’s behind this-”

“Vito!” one of the guards said. “Everyone’s been worried sick about you!”

“Uh… H-Have we met?” is one of the questions Link wanted to ask.

“Ha ha! I know, we’re just generic guards. You should hurry and go see your father. He’ll be the most happy to see you again.” Feeling totally confused, Link passed the guards and entered the giant fence. His beady eyes grew wide at the wondrous sight.

It was an entire city of Minish, who made their homes in mushrooms, trees, and shoes or other items taken from the bigger races. To a human, it had to be just a rather large garden, but to a Minish, it rivaled the size of Clockwork Island. _“Oh my gosh! This is Minish Village! It’s home to almost every Minish on the Terminan Sea! It’s also known as the City that Never Goes Hungry, which is to be expected, because they’re so tiny and all the food is so big! Uhhh…”_ Ayri noticed the sad faces on many of the townspeople. _“But they sure do look sad, don’t they?”_

“Yeah, and it’s probably because of all the poison outside.”

“Huh?” A Minish woman took notice of them. “Master Vito! You’ve finally come back!”

“M-Master Vito? Me?” Link stuttered in shock.

“It’s been weeks since you left to cross the frozen sea. Did you find something that could help us?”

“Um… I…” Link didn’t know how to respond. “Er, uh, where’s my father?” he asked, recalling what the guard said.

“The elder is in his home in the Gold Tree. You better hurry and tell him the good news.”

Link viewed ahead and took notice of the gold-leafed tree in the center of the town. If his “father” was supposedly the elder, he figured that was where he’d be. Ayri walked alongside Link as they explored the vast village. With the colossal wall surrounding this place, it was clear the Minish tried to stay secluded from outsiders and live in peace. But Link felt no peace or joy from these citizens, starving from the lack of edible food.

Stairs led up to the entrance of the Gold Tree. As Link approached it, he heard the quick pattering of Minish feet behind him. “Vitooooo!” He was jumped by a red-eyed Minish with blue hair and a dress with blue and yellow grass blades. “Vito, I just KNEW you’d come back! I’m so happy!”

“W-Wait a sec!” Link broke away and faced her. “W…Wendy?!”

“My name’s Nellia, silly! Wait, have you been seeing other girls behind my back?” she asked accusingly.

“W-What?! No, of course not, I don’t even know a Wendy!” _Really, I don’t. But why did I say that name?_

“I’m only joking! This is such good timing, too! My dad is inside talking with your dad. Let’s go and surprise ’em together, wanna?” She eagerly raced into the Gold Tree.

_“Link, I’m not sure what’s going on, but it seems like you strongly resemble somebody else.”_

“You’re right, Ayri. …And I have a feeling the real Vito is no longer around. …This is gonna be real awkward.” (Pause song.)

Link entered the Gold Tree and followed Nellia upstairs. They hid behind a door and listened to two Minish. One wore a green robe and had a beard, another wore a purple robe and had red eyes. “Zaru… I can’t believe you would do this.” said the elder. “I would’ve called you crazy for trusting the Yiga Clan… but actually giving them our people to use as slaves… it’s despicable!”

“Our people are dying, Ezlan. Your son has been gone for weeks and we haven’t heard a thing from him. The Yiga promised us ripe fruits from their own land, but only in exchange for some of our people. I was against the idea as well, but we have to consider the entire population. Besides, if the Minish work in the Yiga’s gardens, they can produce even more nutritious fruit and have it brought here.”

“The Yiga don’t give a damn about anyone but their selves and their demons. They’ll take whatever fruit our Minish nurture and force them to eat scraps. You’re doing nothing to save our tribe, Zaru! I’d rather we starve than give ourselves up to those…” Ezlan glanced to his right. Link and Nellia entered the room. “V…Vito… you’ve come home…”

“Father,” Nellia spoke heartbroken, “is that really true? Have you been trading our people to the Yiga?”

“Nellia, I know you are still young, but you have to understand. We all must make sacrifices for the sake of survival.”

“But Vito’s back! He said he was gonna come back with a cure! Well, Vito?”

“…” Link felt more tense than he’s ever been before. “I…I don’t know what…”

He could sense the hurt look on Nellia’s face, and the slight disappointment within the adults. For some reason, there was a feeling inside him that really didn’t want to upset Nellia. Link shook his head and looked up more confidently. “It… might be tied to the strange weather.”

“But how?” Zaru asked. “The freezing weather is indeed weird, but that doesn’t explain the poison.”

“The weather is because of a strange girl in a mask. I don’t completely understand, but… I think she’s using some kind of dark magic. If she can control weather, she can probably do other things.” _Like changing me into a Minish._

“And what are we to do against a sorceress of that power? Minish sorcerers such as Ezlan and myself may be formidable against common invaders, but to face someone with the power to freeze the ocean…”

“Well then… I might have one idea. …Why don’t we ask some of the big races for help? The humans, the Gorons, the Rito…”

“Son, you know we can’t do that. We only show ourselves to children, and only good children.” Ezlan replied. “Bad children or adults will only want to capture us, just like those Yiga.”

“But there has to be some good people that would help us! Even if they’re children, there must be some that would be willing to fight for us.”

“And where could you find such a capable child?”

“…I… may know someone very capable.” Link spoke with extreme anxiety. “He’s so capable, that… he can perfectly blend in with Minish as if he were one of them.”

“What…What do you mean?”

Link gulped and slowly reached up to his Minish Cap. “The truth is… I’m not really Vito. I’m-”

 _“Master.”_ Ayri jumped out in a peppy manner. _“Need I remind you we’re in a teeny-tiny house that you will immediately destroy should you remove your hat, and possibly kill everyone in the surrounding area?”_

“GYAH! Right, good idea! Uh, maybe we should go outside the village.”

The four headed to the back gate of the fence and exited to a vast (from Minish view) field. Link walked a good distance away and said, “Okay… here goes.” He took off his hat and burst into a human teenager.

“AAAAAAAHHH!” Nellia bellowed.

“A…A HUMAN?!” the adults gaped.

“Hehehe…” Link put the cap on and returned to their level again.

“YOU LITTLE IMPOSTER! EXPLAIN YOURSELF!” demanded Ezlan.

“Wait, I didn’t mean to impersonate your son! It…It’s like this.”

Link recapped some of the events that led up to this. “But if all that’s true… where’s the real Vito?” Nellia asked.

“I…I don’t know.” Link replied half-honestly. “But I need to find that girl and stop her before she causes anymore harm. If I can, then maybe… it can save your island, too.”

“Hmm… you’re a very strange boy.” Ezlan said. “Yet, there’s something about you. I don’t believe you are an enemy of the Minish. In fact… hearing your description of the girl and her mask… it reminds me of the Legend of the Four Maidens.”

“The who now?” Link cocked a brow.

“Human boy… somewhere on this island, there is an ancient temple that was built by the Minish many ages ago. It has gone untouched for a long time, but… there is a chance that it may have something to do with our decaying kingdom. It is said to be the home of the Spring Maiden, she who brings the spring to all of Termina. I have to wonder if this masked girl has done something to the Maiden…”

“You aren’t thinking of letting a HUMAN into the Rain Temple, are you?!” Zaru shouted.

“Not, yet. First, he must prove his worth by fixing YOUR mistake, Zaru! You see, Human, Zaru has taken Minish to designated locations to be captured by the Yiga Clan. I want you to go out to the jungle and rescue our people before the Yiga get their filthy hands on them.”

“You can count on me.” Link nodded. “I-… Nellia?” The blue-haired Minish started crying, running back to town.

“Poor girl.” Zaru said. “She’s been upset over Vito’s leaving ever since. Seeing a complete stranger that looks like him must be quite heartbreaking.”

“Nellia, wait!” Link decided to chase her, and she stopped running halfway inside the gate.

“H-He…He promised me he would come back. He promised he wouldn’t die out in the frozen sea. He said that when he returned, I would be eating healthy again. Was all that just a lie?!” She sniffled. “Did he go and get himself killed?!”

“What kind of person was Vito like?”

“Sniff, he was really great with animals. He could tame any beast, from the Skulltulas to the swordfish that lurk beyond the coast. He commanded a whole bunch of animals to fend off the Yiga at one point. And he was kind to all the townspeople, especially…”

“Then he wouldn’t just leave you all behind. I’m sure he’s out there somewhere, and one day, he’s going to come riding on the biggest Gyorg you’ve ever seen!”

Nellia turned and could sense the undying confidence in Link’s eyes. It was the very same look that filled Nellia with hope. “Sniff… Thank you, um… what was your name?”

“Link.”

“Link… until Vito comes back, will you be our hope?”

“Of course I will!” Link spoke with twin voices.

For a moment, Nellia thought she saw a vision of someone else beside him. “Ha ha ha… Good luck!” (Resume “Forgotten Isle 2.”)

Link re-enlarged outside the fence and ventured into the jungle once more. The path led to a poison swamp that had numerous dead trees and rotten lilipads to serve as platforms. There were three different paths around each side of the swamp. Link became a Minish and jumped a series of small lilipads to reach a tall trunk, and he could climb a vine to the top of said trunk. Up top was a familiar purple plant. _“Link, this is a Baba Bud. The Minish use them as cannons for fast travel across parts of the jungle. Big people can use them, too, if you’re a scaredy that is!”_

“Consider me a scaredy.” Link changed back and hopped in the bud. He aimed it to the left at one of the paths and fired over. The path led to an area with lots of trees enclosed by cliff walls. Link searched around the trees, but couldn’t find anything of interest. _“Ha ha ha ha!”_ He heard a laugh and looked around. He saw nothing. Drawing his sword, Link carefully searched the area behind him. He heard running behind him and whipped around, raising his shield in defense before a ninja struck his sword.

He was a slender figure in black and tan armor with a black ponytail and a mask with an upside-down Sheikah symbol, but Link only had a second to observe him before he vanished in a puff of smoke. Link was more attentive in looking for him. The Yiga peeked out of the tree behind him, but quickly hid when Link whipped around. _Hmmnn… I’ll have to attack him when he comes for me._ Link closed his eyes and sheathed his sword, keeping only his ears sharp.

The Yiga rushed out—Link drew his sword and quickly rolled behind the assassin, dealing a Parry Attack. The Yiga recovered, but Link dealt a flurry of blows before the Yiga cried, “EEEEEHH!” bleeding from the waist and disappearing. He dropped a squirming pouch and Link went to open it, freeing a trio of Minish. The Minish bowed gratefully to the human, and Link returned it. “Here, get inside this.” he requested, holding his empty bottle down. The Minish looked with concern. “Don’t worry, I’ll take you back to the village. I promise.” The Minish saw no ill intent in his eyes and chose to climb inside.

Link returned to the swamp and made a quick trip back to the village to set them free. He made it back to the Baba Bud and used it to shoot to another platform. The trunks to his left staired up to a Baba Bud while the surface-level ones to his right led to a rock. Naturally, he hopped up to the Baba Bud—a Boko Baba popped out of the plant, ready to munch him. _“Eeek! Link, it’s a Boko Baba! If you get close, it’ll eat you for lunch!”_ Sadly, it was too high for Link’s sword to reach, and when he jumped to grab on its stump, the Baba quickly ate him and spat him back down.

Link had to go down, get the rock, and jump back up to throw it into the Baba’s mouth. It struggled to stomach the rock, so Link could climb to its platform and behead the Baba. Link used its Baba Bud to shoot over to the northern path, but found there was no way to get across the large swamp, only a patch of soil. He decided to head for the eastern path, but the only means of crossing the poison involved trusting a row of hanging Baby Skulltulas. _“Don’t worry, Link! Minish are so small that Skulltulas don’t find them satisfying to eat.”_

“That doesn’t make me feel any better! Sigh… I guess I have no choice. Gulp…” With more courage than he’s ever had, Link became a Minish and leapt to the claw of the first spider. He directed the spider to swing to and fro before leaping to the next one. He repeated this pattern until he reached the path. There was a patch of dried flowers that some Minish were hiding under, and the field ahead had a pond of pure water.

Link went to go talk with the Minish. “Yo, what’s going on over here?”

“It’s Master Vito! Don’t let the Yiga see you! They’re trying to use that water to lure us out.” a man said.

“It’s one of the only clean water sources in the jungle and we’re so thirsty.” a woman said. “But we can’t…”

“Leave this to me.” Link bravely marched up to the pond, watched by the preying eye of the Yiga. Once he was close to the water, the assassin leapt out, but Link reverted to normal and struck him. He engaged in a swordfight with the Yiga, ducking a horizontal strike before stabbing at his stomach. After some more quick cuts, the Yiga fled. The Minish knew it was safe to come out, and they pulled out a crescent-shaped bean with colored segments. “Ayri, what’s that?”

_“Oh, that’s a Magic Bean! They can grow magical plants that can float through the air. They need water to grow.”_

“Well, don’t mind if I do.” Link stashed the bean in his pocket. He then went to get some of the pure water in his bottle. “Oh, the Minish. Uh… you guys can swim, right?” They shrugged and agreed to climb in the bottle of water. Link used a Baba Bud to shoot back over to the beginning and let the Minish go back into town. He then made his way back north, planted the Magic Bean in the soil, and watered it. It became a plant platform that began floating when Link stepped on it.

It went in a non-linear path across the otherwise linear swamp. Skulltulas dropped down as Link quickly sliced them, lest they would push him off. Eventually, the platform arrived at the ledge and parked. This led to a poisoned spring with multiple layers in the back. At the edge of the spring stood a more muscular Yiga, who turned to face Link with a katana aimed. “Ho ho ha! Well, what’s a little boy like you doing out here?”

“I’m here to rescue the Minish!”

“You mean these little insects?” He raised a pouch that was squirming. “I don’t really understand these creatures. They’re so helpless that they came to us, begging to give them food, willing to become slaves for that very purpose. Now they have to rely on a mere child to save them, but I doubt YOU have food to offer. It’s as if these little insects don’t care if they live or die.”

“Let them go or you’ll be sorry!”

“Alright, kid. I’ll play along. But I play dirty!” The Yiga Blademaster slashed his Windcleaver, and Link dodged as the very air was cut. The Yiga followed this with a flurry of horizontal and vertical slashes, Link either dodging sideways or ducking. Seeing this was going nowhere, the Yiga spun and chopped down at the ground to blast a strong gust of wind, blowing dirt up into the air. Link used his shield to block it, but forming an idea, he became a Minish before the dust cleared. “Huh?” The Yiga wondered where he went. “Heh. What a coward.”

Link scampered behind the Blademaster, changed back, and dealt a forceful stab. “GAH! You little pesk!” He jumped away and got to the opposite side of Link from the poison spring, spinning his sword to unleash a gust of wind. It was slowly pushing Link into the spring, but he could crouch down and withstand the wind as he crawled toward him. Link slashed at his feet, the Yiga dropping the attack and enduring another round of strikes. He tried to stab down at Link, but the boy performed an overhead Parry Attack and chopped the mask off his face. “AAAAH!” The Yiga covered his face and disappeared, dropping the Minish pouch.

“Perfect. Hopefully, you guys are the last ones. Let’s head on back.” Link put the Minish into his bottle and returned to town.

From the treetops, a young Yiga watched him. “That thing on his hip… was that… a Sheikah Slate? Father must know about this…”

**The Gold Tree**

“That’s every Minish Zaru claimed to have offered to the Yiga.” Ezlan said. “Link… we can’t thank you enough.”

“No, we can’t.” Zaru said. “Because now our people will be left to starve.”

“That’s enough out of you, you ungrateful traitor! This strange boy has brought hope to our little kingdom. I think he has earned the right to enter the Rain Temple. If something has happened to the Spring Maiden… he will be able to fix it. There is just one problem… the temple can only be opened by playing the Song of New Growth. But it must be played by a duet using Fairy Ocarinas. Nellia has one of the ocarinas… but the only other one belonged to Vito.”

“Well, what about my Wind Waker?” Link felt for his baton. “Could it…?” He felt something roundish in his pocket and pulled out a wooden ocarina. “What?”

“A Fairy Ocarina! How…How do you have it?”

“I-I don’t know. I… Where is my Wind Waker?”

“Well… as long as you have it, you should be able to open the temple.”

“Then let’s go.” Nellia spoke, surprising Link from behind him. “I’ll take him to where the temple is if that’s okay. And I’ll teach him the song, too.”

Zaru sighed. “Very well. If this boy can really bring miracles, then we’ll see if he can rid the curse on our land.”

After Link and Nellia exited the town, the former changed back into a human. “If it’s alright, I think we’ll go a bit faster if I carry you.” Link offered, holding his bottle down. Nellia giggled and climbed in. She indicated where Link had to go, which happened to be across the Magic Bean platform and back to the poison spring. Only now did Link notice the lilipads leading across the spring. He set Nellia free and shrunk to her level, following her across the lilipads.

They led to a small platform with two stages. They took their place on them and faced out at the vast, lake-sized spring. “We used to go swimming here all the time… this spring used to be really beautiful. I would like for you to see it in its natural form.”

“I would like to see it, too.”

“Hmm… Anyway, the song goes like this. Play along with me.” She put her ocarina to her mouth and played softly: for the Wind Waker, it would be left, right, up, down, left, right, up. Link thought he wasn’t sure how to play that on an ocarina, but somehow, it came natural to him. _Doo, doo, doo… Doo, doo, doo, doo…_

The song was a peaceful melody that softened their hearts. Such tiny instruments could not be heard by humans, but the creatures of the jungle felt at peace with the echoing notes. Link’s spirit came out of his Minish form and conducted their song. At this moment, a different force was playing his ocarina (and it was not the strange boy from before).

When the song ended, a huge chunk of the water briefly rose up like a hill, flowing off a humongous, ancient structure that rose out of the water. They could feel the earth shaking from the event, and were it any larger, people could feel it for miles.

But the temple was actually the size of a dollhouse and made the most minimal sound and movement. After it stopped rising, a bird casually flew down and perched on it. It tweeted and felt around the roof a bit before taking off.

Still, the sight was very grand for the two Minish. “We heard the ceiling of the temple produces an endless, gentle rainfall.” Nellia said. “We promised we would enter together one day and see for ourselves. It sounds so romantic…” She closed her eyes, fantasizing it. Link felt himself blushing. “Anyway… I’ll wait out here for you. I hope you come back safely.”

“Don’t worry. Temples are my thing.” Link bravely marched up the stairs provided for him. “Still… I haven’t heard anything about the stranger Purah mentioned. You’d think another human would be easy to spot. …Unless… he’s already in here, too.”

 

**The classic Terminan thing of parallel universe people, right? So, remember in _Operation: MASKED_ when I wrote the dungeon in the same chapter as the pre-dungeon? Not doing that anymore. Next time, the first dungeon.**


	5. The Spring Maiden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link journeys into the Rain Temple and solves its puzzles.

**Yes, the “Four Maidens” thing is extremely similar to _RWBY_. But hey, this is still a crossover series, so why am I worrying? It’s not like Nintendo would actually make a game of this… :( Play “Vah Ruta Dungeon” from _Zelda: Breath of the Wild_.**

****

**_

Chapter 5: The Spring Maiden

_**

****

_Dungeon 1: Rain Temple_

_Mission: Find out what’s happened to the Spring Maiden._

The inside of the temple was surprisingly bright, its walls a yellow-green. A gentle rain was pouring from the ceiling, which was brimming yellow like a sun. Link smiled and held his hands out to feel the rain. Ayri jumped out and tried to feel it herself. _“Link, I can detect a magical spell that is causing the temple to draw in water from the outside and continuously produce rain. Too bad the rain goes right through me… I wanna feel rain, tooooo!”_ She stomped her holographic feet.

“I guess I’ll have to leave this cap on, or else I’ll tear the whole structure down. Good thing this Minish form has its own sword and shield.”

_“You still got me too, y’know! No matter what form you’re in, you have access to all the Sheikah Slate’s functions!”_

The first room was rather small and had a high ledge up on the right, along with a few tiny branches sticking out. There was no way onto the ledge, and the door was sealed with bars. There was a switch on the left that Link could stand on, opening the door, but it would reseal the moment he stepped off. In one corner was a large nut (similar to those from the Forbidden Woods), but it was too light to hold down the switch. Link decided to cut it in half, discovering it was hollow inside. When he held it up, the rain began to fill it like a bowl. He could set the heavier half-nut on the switch and press it down. Thus, the first puzzle was complete.

The next room had a river flowing from Link’s side to the other side. Its density was light enough for his little Minish form to swim in. There was another nut beside him, but he decided to scout the room before grabbing it. The next door was locked, and Link could sever a leaf boat from its post. He could jump to a ledge on the left partway down the river, climb up to a branch, from which he could jump to another branch that led to a chest with a Seal Bud (an eyeball flower with vines growing over the chest).

Link had to put the nut onto the leaf boat, ride it down, and throw the nut onto the ledge, afterwards jumping on himself. He carried the nut up to the Seal Bud and threw it to destroy the flower (which would otherwise close if he got close). He retrieved the Small Key from the chest and swam to the door to open it.

The following room was no doubt the center of the temple, with a giant structure with several water wheels. Seal Buds were growing all over the device, and the room was a doleful blue as opposed to the sunny yellow. Link was on a high ledge overlooking the room, and while the waterfall pouring in from the previous room was pure, the water below was sickly purple.

_“Link, it seems that this machine controls all the main mechanisms in this temple. But all those yucky vines on it are keeping it from working! Link, we gotta do something about them!”_

“Patience, Ayri. Where there’s a dungeon, there’s a dungeon item.” To their right, they could jump some large branches and reach a large chest. Link peered inside with wonder as a gold light shone from the chest. Ayri giggled as he propped his stomach on the rim, reaching into the chest before falling back on his feet.

**You got the _Dungeon Map_! This provides a layout of the dungeon. No, it doesn’t mark chests and stuff, you need a Compass for that. Yes, it’s one of those old-timey maps.**

Link returned to the starting ledge and climbed a vine wall down to a foothold above the water. Another vine wall led to a door on the east side of the room, and inside the corresponding room was a decaying garden. Giant blue flies called Pestos were spewing Bomb Rocks out of their mouths and throwing them down at Link. The Minish could climb on the rock and jump onto a Pesto to take command of it. He steered the fly over a poison lake, which had several breakable stalagmites. He used the fly to shoot bombs out and blow them up into platforms.

A Tropical Wiggler was at rest on two platforms in the corner, and there were two switches on two platforms on the right side. Link rode the Wiggler and had it stretch its way over to press both switches with either end of its body. This caused a door to open on the main ledge, across from a locked door. Inside the new room, Link was safely sheltered under a giant shroom cap, while poison rain poured around the rest of the room. _“Oh, dear. This rain looks tainted. I wish we brought an umbrella.”_

Luckily, an umbrella-sized mushroom was there to serve that very purpose! Unfortunately, the mushroom began to shrink under the rain, and Link had to quickly maneuver through a wooden walkway maze with tall railing. He was able to find the Small Key, but he quickly made his way back, taking damage from the rain after the mushroom vanished. Link took it to unlock the door in the Pesto room. This brought him to a room with normal rain, but there was another poison pool with stalagmites and large fruits growing on the ceiling. With nothing to do in here, Link entered a door to his left—and it sealed with bars on the other side.

The room was fairly small and had a few puddles. Naturally, the rain continued to pour, but Link kept his eyes sharp for the monster ambush. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary… until Link realized the rain wasn’t pouring into the puddles. Only on… him. He stepped aside, and the rain followed him. …Worriedly, Link looked up. “WAAAAH!” He dodged when a watery blob with a creepy smile dropped down.

 _“Chuchu…”_ Its blubbery lips moved. _“Chuuuu…”_ It seeped into the thin cracks.

_Sub-boss: Rain Chuchu_

Link felt the rainfall again and ran before the Rain Chu could crush him. He ran to stab the liquid monster, but his sword did no damage as it seeped belowground again. _“Link, the Rain Chuchu is made of pure water. Ordinarily, it’s the size of a normal raindrop and completely harmless, but I guess the Minish view it differently. No physical attack will damage it. What’s more, I can’t imagine it tasting very well… or could it?”_

“Could it? Huh…” Link dodged the Chu again and used his bottle to grab a fraction of its body. Of course, the only way to dispose of it was to drink it. “Yick. Is this honestly the whole fight? Man, my bladder is gonna explode after this.” With that, all Link could do was keep dodging the Chu and drinking as much of it as he could each time before it sunk.

When the Chuchu was half its original size, the watery blob morphed into a ball. It followed Link insistently, so all the hero could do was bounce it back with his shield. The Chu would easily recompose and roll back. Link decided to use a Shield Bash to push it against the wall with more force, the blob breaking into pieces. Link had the chance to scoop some in his bottle and drink it. The Chu would reform and chase Link with faster speeds, and during this time he had to deal multiple Shield Bashes. When the Chu was near its smallest size, he had to use five bashes, but the hero prevailed and broke it into its remaining pieces.

After Link drunk them down, only a tiny droplet was moving. The little Rain Chu looked up at his boots in terror, but Link didn’t hesitate in squashing the drip. With the monster destroyed, Link watched as a treasure chest materialized out of thin air. However, it was designed with Sheikah Tech. _“Link! This is a Sheikah Chest! If you stick me into that slot, I may regain one of my lost functions!”_

“Is that so? Well then…” Link stuck the slate into the slot. The chest glowed blue as data flowed into it. Once it was finished, Link pulled it out. A digital boomerang formed in Ayri’s hands, the girl doing a twirl.

**You got the _Boomerang Rune_! The Sheikah Slate will grant you a digital boomerang that can retrieve distant items or hit targets. The boomerang can also attach tightropes between targets, with which you can balance on.**

_“A BOOMERANG! I always wanted one of these! Come on, Link, let’s play with it!”_ She handed the item to Link, and it felt surprisingly solid.

To escape this room, he had to throw it at a switch above the door. Link exited to the room with hanging fruit and chose to put it to more use: by throwing the boomerang around the stalagmites, ropes connected them, and Link could balance up. Unfortunately, it could only connect five targets. Link had to throw the boomerang up to chop down the fruit, sticking them on the first four posts and connecting the next four posts via boomerang.  The last one led him to a ledge with a chest containing a Small Key. _“Hey, Link! Since these are called ‘Small Keys,’ imagine how tiny they would be at our normal size!”_

“Ha ha ha! Good point!” His mood uplifted once again, Link returned to the center of the temple. Parallel to the vine wall he used before, Link could connect tightropes between some branches, which would lead him partway to the north side of the room. He could rest on a safe ledge, and from there lock his boomerang onto the Seal Buds to destroy them. A stairwell led him up to a door on the north side, and Link luckily had the key to open it.

Link was brought to another pool of poison water, which was in a continuous rotation as nuts and trash rotated around. There was a post on Link’s shore, and he was able to connect the boomerang’s rope to it and the barrels. When he did this, Link could pull them over. One of the items was a giant chest, and when Link brought it on shore, a golden light began to emit when he opened it. As he suspected, the item inside was…

**You got the _Compass_! Use this to see where you are and where important items are marked! …You know, how exactly does this work in relation to the map? It must be magic or something.**

Link pulled in some of the nuts, but two of them turned out to be bombs. Link pulled in a floating twig the size of a log, and he could stand on it to float over to the other side. He could jump to a ledge and go up the stairs to the second floor of the room. There was a cracked wall and a post, so Link had to connect it with one of the bomb nuts down below, and use it to destroy the wall. Inside was a chest that contained a gear-shaped key.

“Hey, you think this can activate that big machine thingy?” Ayri asked. Link nodded in agreement. They returned to the center room, and from the right of that door, Link could sidle along a thin ledge to reach a platform on the corner turn. He tossed the boomerang to destroy the other Seal Buds on the sides of the huge machine. There was an opening on one side of it, and Link could make a running jump down to the platform, from which he could climb a ladder into said opening. There was a keyhole on a pedestal, no doubt fit for their Ignition Key.

With the Seal Buds gone and the machine reactivated, the cogs began turning. The center chamber returned to a bright color and the poison water became pure. “Link, the water is clean now! It doesn’t smell gross, anymore! I mean, if I had a sense of smell, I’m sure I would love it!” Link couldn’t deny this was a major improvement. They watched as a large gate opened in the west corridor of the room. However, Link decided to ignore that for now and return to the eastern area.

The room with the poison rain now had pure rain. A ladder led onto one of the fence’s posts, and Link realized he could connect that post with one on a high ledge. There was a door on that ledge, and when Link walked in, it sealed behind him.

Link found himself in an uncomfortably large, empty room. Link walked forward, looking left, right, then up—“WAAAAH!” A gigantic spider with four long legs crashed down, its head a ball that looked like a planet.

_Sub-boss: Beady Long Legs_

_“Link, it’s a Beady Long Legs! This toothless spider likes to squash prey with its round feet and leave its children to devour it. It’s so tall that you need to climb its legs to reach its head, but there’s no way to do that if it keeps stomping. Quit moving, you stupid spider!”_

The Long Legs stomped away from Link and released baby spiders that the hero sliced apart. There were posts around the room, so Link got an idea: he directed the spider toward a post and used the boomerang to latch the first joint on a leg with the post. The spider struggled to escape, so Link quickly climbed the rope, got to its leg, and crossed to the Long Legs’ head. He stabbed it a couple times before the spider furiously shook Link off.

The Long Legs stomped the post into the ground to break free, then ran faster to keep away from Link. The Minish hero chopped up some more spiders before using the boomerang to connect a post with its leg again. This time, the spider was smart as it quickly acted to stomp the post down and escape (thankfully, they would come back up). What Link had to do was lock onto one post, the spider’s leg, and then another post, so it would be bound to two posts with neither one letting it reach the other. Link climbed one of the ropes to get on top of it and stab the head before Long Legs shook him off.

The tightropes wore off and the Long Legs decided to stomp the posts so hard that they wouldn’t come back up. Furthermore, it retreated to the ceiling and continued to drop children down. _“Link, don’t forget you can connect creatures with the boomerang, too!”_ Link nodded and decided to connect four Baby Long Legs with a single leg of their daddy. They still tried to chase Link, but the act of doing so tugged on the leg until it was detached from the ceiling. As the spider continued to pull, the Long Legs completely fell. Its head was on the ground, so Link seized the chance to leap and STAB a fatal blow.

The Long Legs gave one final cry, standing and wobbling around before its ball opened, dropping a blue and yellow chest. The spider dissolved into ash. Link went to open the chest, but he knew as well as anyone what it would contain.

**You got the _Boss Key_! Use this to open that big lock with the scary horns!**

Link returned to the center of the temple and swam down the river to the west corridor. There was a high ledge with no way up, but there was a pipe with multiple vents on the top. Link climbed onto a foothold and entered the available door. Inside was another pool with a giant Skullfish swimming in circles. There was also a giant faucet handle inside. Link could easily do this without jumping in: when its tail was close to one of the handle’s bars, he linked them with the boomerang, and the fish was turning the faucet as it swam. The pipe began rushing with water, and Link exited the room to find the vents spouting up columns of water like a stairway.

Link hopped up the columns and reached the door up top. Link was in a fairly wide room and had to cut open a nut into a bowl. They were under a safe roof, but outside, the floor was being pounded by raindrops the size of boulders. _“Link, those raindrops are actual size! If we aren’t careful, our skulls will be crushed!”_ And not to mention the nut, Link thought. He could fill the bowl using a small waterfall, but then had to carry it through this room while dodging all the giant drops. The Minish was crushed, his nut shattering, and Link weakly recovered as he rushed back to the start. He filled the other bowl up and dashed across the room again, dodging drop after drop, until he successfully reached the safe roof on the other side. He used the bowl to press a weight switch and open the door.

Link entered a room with a humongous waterfall and multiple sideways platforms along it. There was a Tropical Wiggler wandering around on the first platform, and Link could jump onto it. It felt awkward riding the caterpillar sideways, but it controlled just the same. They traveled up platform to platform, dodging bombs that Pestos were dropping. Some of the platforms threatened to flip, some were moving side-to-side into spikes, so the Wiggler had to quickly stretch to the next ones. Finally, Link made it to the top.

Link entered the next door, and beyond his vision was the Boss Door. There was a chasm of water below, a post at the end of the large branch on his end, and another on the Boss Door’s end. Link connected the two posts and was about to cross— _“CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP!”_ A giant Skullfish jumped out and SNAPPED the rope, scaring the living daylights out of Link. There was no way to get across with that beast munching up and down. Unless, of course, Link locked onto the first post, then the Skullfish’s tail, then the second post. When the Skullfish turned to fall down, Link connected the three targets, leaving the fish to hang by the tail. Link could trek across and reach the Boss Door. His key could fit perfectly inside the lock, and in he went. (End song.)

The rain continued to poor gently as Link faced an altar in the center of a large room. The altar was corrupted with dark aura. The wall behind it displayed a lovely mural of a green girl in a green dress with pink flowers. The floor was covered in shallow water with some large lilipads lain around. As Link stepped forward, large green, glittery balls began to descend with the rain. This scenario felt very familiar, Link thought… and he was afraid to look up. (Geez, these monsters and their sneak attacks from the ceiling.)

Link couldn’t see it at first because of the artificial clouds… but soon, he could make out the terrifying, patterned face that shaped into wings. The tremendous beast rocketed down, Link dodging before its huge black pinchers munched him. These factors, along with its single eye, told Link that it was a Mothula. If these oversized bugs weren’t scary before, the Minish had it even worse. (Play “Kalle Demos” from _Wind Waker_!)

 

_Boss fight: Massive Masked Moth, MOTHUKING_

The Mothuking took up the whole center of the room, quickly turning to face Link wherever he walked. From this perspective, it looked like a winged Gohma; if only Link had the grappling hook. Whenever the beast opened its pinchers, it was practically inviting Link to take a stab at its eye, but the hero knew better. There were posts spread out around the room, so as Link dodged the pinchers, he locked the boomerang to a post on his right, then to the right pincher. He waited for the pinchers to open before linking the targets, because then the Mothuking couldn’t close that pincher.

Link got onto that side and struck the eye a few times before the beast broke free. Link back-flipped and watched as the Mothuking took flight. The beast dropped four Morphs; the little spikeballs that would do nothing more than slow Link’s speed would surely puncture his skull with those giant spikes. Meanwhile, the Mothula was spitting yellow, glittery fluff balls from its rear tip, and one of them struck and bound Link in place. This enabled one of the Morphs to strike the Minish, leaving him bleeding from the stomach.

Link withstood the pain and escaped, running a safe distance from the Morphs. Link realized he could lock his boomerang onto the Morphs’ spikes, as well as the Mothuking’s rear. He decided to link one of the Morphs to the rear, so when the beast fired its stun ball, it struck the offspring and stuck it in place. Link could climb onto the Morph since its spikes were covered, then climb the tightrope to stab its bulbous rear.

The beast shook so furiously that the Morph was pulled free, and it flung up just as the rope detached, striking Mothuking dead in the eye. Angered, the beast rammed the wall and shook the room as more rain fell, creating a small flood. Link had to climb onto one of the lilipads for safety. The shaking also caused Pestos to come down, so Link hitched a ride on one. The Mothuking kept trying to snap them, but whenever the beast open its pinchers, Link had the Pesto throw a Bomb Rock at its eye. Link repeated this three times before the furious Mothuking blasted forward and shook the room again.

Link’s Pesto was destroyed, and the Hero fell onto a lilipad. Link watched as the beast rocketed to the ceiling, then CRASHED to the flooded ground, causing stalactites to come down. Mothuking did it a second time, performing a stylish flip. Forming an idea, Link linked a stalactite to Mothuking’s rear, so when the beast performed its flip, the stalactite whirled around its body before sticking into its “rocket engine.” The beast squirmed and ended up falling on its back in the water.

Link hopped onto its floating wings and climbed onto its belly. The beast continued to squirm in its desperate attempt to shoot the stalactite out, too distracted as Link climbed up to its eye. With a few more strong strikes, the Mothuking was blinded. It shook faster than ever before eventually losing the will to fight. Its colors faded, and the beast curled up and exploded into darkness, its soul leaving its body (in the form of the girl’s mask). Link gave his classic victory dance as the flood drained down the natural cracks. (End song.)

There were two things left behind by the beast: a Heart Container to heal his injuries and a mask that represented Mothuking’s wings. He figured it would make a fun thing to scare Tetra with.

**You’ve seized _Mothuking’s Remains_! You’ve just freed the innocent spirit who was imprisoned within the evil Mothuking!**

The darkness around the aura was replaced with green light. A spire of small leaves erupted from it. The leaves swirled into a single thin point before scattering. A girl in a moss dress, matching hair, and lighter green skin appeared. She reminded Link of the Fairy Queen.

_“Hello there. You must be the one who destroyed that awful monster. My name is Lyara, the Maiden of Spring. Hm hm hm! You can’t fool me with that disguise. It’s rare for people to be able to see eye-to-eye with the Minish. Most boys your age would look down on them like common insects. But I can tell your heart is kind and gentle.”_

“Well, I wouldn’t say that.” Link blushed. “I killed a lot of monsters.”

_“Only in self-defense, I would hope! Still… I sense a dark power from your cap. It feels like the dark power that was used to curse me.”_

“It was the work of the masked girl, wasn’t it? Tell me… do you know who that is?”

The maiden closed her eyes. _“One thousand years ago… us Four Maidens were gifted the Power of Seasons by the gods. We promised to use our powers for good… but the Winter Maiden sought to obtain all of our powers for herself. Her name was Araea. She created a mask, imbued with dark magic that she used to try and steal our power. We had no choice but to destroy her. However, the mask absorbed Araea’s Ice Element, and our efforts to destroy the cursed relic were futile. We sealed the mask inside the temple dedicated to her, hoping no one would find it, or else they would inherit her frozen heart and powers of the cold dark.”_

“But that girl… that wasn’t Araea herself, was it?”

_“No. I don’t know who that was. But I could feel that her heart was frozen and corrupted by Araea’s essence. I can also feel that the rest of my brethren have fallen under Araea’s curse. Much like the poor Minish your form inhabits.”_

“What do you mean by… whuh?” Link looked to his right as a Minish’s spirit appeared. He nearly resembled Link.

“My name is Vito. I would like to thank you for helping my people… Link.”

“You’re Vito? Does that mean you’re… dead?”

“I left my island and ventured across the frozen sea in search of something that could rid our poisonous water. There was a terrible blizzard, and it took every ounce of strength to keep from blowing away. And then…”

_The wind began to calm down, and Vito opened his eyes to a giant pair of frostbitten feet. Looming above him was a girl in a purple mask, shaped like a snowflake with glowing blue eyes. “That’s strange… I didn’t expect to find a helpless little creature like you out here. Are you lost, little one?”_

_“A human! Please, take me to shelter! Is there a town nearby? Are there other humans? I’m looking for a way to save my village!”_

_“Why even bother begging? No one is going to care what happens to your kind. I may as well put you out of your misery now.” The girl aimed a hand down at him._

_“NO! Please, I’m begging you, take me somewhere safe!”_

_“What a cute little hat you got! It’ll look lovely in my collection!” Her mask rattled and glowed, and a painful sensation began to overcome Vito._

“My soul was sealed inside my own hat… and before I knew it, I was placed on your head.”

“Is there… any way to get you back to normal?”

 _“If there is a way, it’s beyond my power.”_ Lyara said. _“But I will ease your worries and grant your wish, Vito: I will restore Picori Island to its natural form.”_ She molded a green, glowing sphere between her hands and threw it skyward.

The light flew into the heavens and burst, drawing in the clouds. Glimmering rain began to pour onto Picori Island, causing the poison to dissolve into purple mist and fade away. Purified water flowed throughout the island, the Minish filled with delight. Some began to dive into the spring and go for a swim.

_“Brave young one… have you ever heard of the Sword of Four Seasons? It was a sacred blade that we four shared, passing it to the next when our respective season came. It is what we used to end Araea’s life. If you have any hope of stopping that girl, you may need to wield this sword yourself. The only way to find the blade is through a sacred song-”_

“Of course.” Link remarked.

 _“-which can only be sung with the essence of us Four Maidens. I will give my essence to you now, but you will have to visit the remaining temples for the other three. That Sheikah Slate of yours will be great for carrying it. Please, raise it.”_ Link held the slate above him. A green light came out of Lyara’s chest, and it flew into the device.

Ayri jumped out and drew a bow and arrow, aiming and firing up at the wall. _“Incredible, Master! The Spring Maiden has restored my Arrow Rune! Not only that, it contains a strange power…”_

**You got the _Earth Arrow_! The Spring Maiden’s power will allow your Sheikah Slate to fire arrows that can shatter weak rocks or walls!**

_“As a member of the Kokiri, I was a close and lifelong friend of the Minish. Alas… I was too weak to protect them from the wrath of Araea’s Mask. I will do my part to keep them safe from any further harm… but I must entrust you to do what I cannot. Please… rescue my friends soon.”_ A soft wind blew, and the maiden became leaves as they flew away.

“Link…” Vito spoke. “I hate to ask this of you, but… don’t tell my people what’s become of me, yet. I want them to feel hopeful for a while…”

“Well… okay.” Link nodded. Vito’s spirit faded. “Okay, Ayri. Let’s go tell Nellia the good news.”

As soon as Link exited the temple and stepped down the stairs, the Minish girl ran up and squeezed him in a hug. “YOU DID IT! Our island is saved, all thanks to you!”

“Indeed.” said Ezlan. He and Zaru had come to meet their savior. “You are a hero to the Minish, young warrior. Isn’t he, Zaru?”

“Hrrmm… I suppose he is. No doubt, this boy has proven to be far more trustworthy than the Yiga… I don’t know what I was thinking in bargaining with them.”

“Ah, the past is the past, old friend. Especially since you’ll be catching 100 fish as punishment. But it’s too bad Vito can’t partake in this happiness. Link… if you must leave, can you please keep an eye out for him on your journey?”

“Y-Yeah… of course I will. Oh, I forgot to ask! By any chance, have any other humans visited this island recently? A mask salesman, perhaps?”

“Why, yes, actually. Er, he wasn’t human; he was a Minish like us, but he was a mask salesman. He was coming from this spring when I passed him… and he said something about going to check the temple in the Avian Highlands.”

“That’s where the Rito live, right?” Nellia asked. “I read that they built a temple for the Summer Maiden.”

“I think I know where I’m going next then.” Link said. “I’ll see you guys later!”

“Okay, Link! Please come visit us again sometime!” Nellia waved.

“Heheh! Sure I will! …Ulp! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to relieve myself of this Rain Chu! Eyaaaahhh!” He scampered off in a hurry, Nellia giggling awkwardly.

**In another time**

Cheren took off the hat, stretching his body. “So, it turns out, Vito’s soul was inside the Minish Cap. But he didn’t want Link to tell anyone, yet.”

“Really? That’s… kinda sad.” Hat Kid frowned.

“Yeah. Reminds me of the people I encountered in Termina. …In fact, one of my masks was a Kateenian. I have no idea who it was or how Majora got ahold of him. I wonder… if his family knows what happened to him.”

 

**I heard that, for _Ocarina of Time_ , the Medallions were originally meant to grant you elemental arrows, but only three arrows made it in the end. That’s where the Earth Arrow idea comes from, basically.**


	6. The Murdo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link journeys to the Avian Highlands, where the Rito live! Little does he know that the Yiga are ready to ambush him.

**I don’t think I’m gonna tackle sidequests right now; we’re just gonna get started with the 2nd world. (Also, resisting the urge to use a _Coco_ song during this beginning scene.)**

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Chapter 6: The Murdo

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**Clockwork Island; Stock Pot Inn**

Everything that had transpired took place in a single day, so it was no surprise that Link was extremely tired. Luckily, the hero kept his pajamas with him. Sometimes, he thought about going around in his pajamas, but he would get very sick from the cold. After all this cold and swimming, he welcomed a nice warm blanket.

What made it slightly warmer was Ayri’s hologram laying next to him. She served as a nightlight for the tired hero. _“Yaaaawn… Master Link, the Sheikah Slate does not require sleep to remain active. This is just one of my… yaaaawn, personality settings.”_

“I know, but you feel more like a real person if you get tired, Ayri.”

_“Did your little sister… yawn, used to sleep by you?”_

“Yeah, she did. Usually when it stormed. …I wonder if she still gets scared. I mean, it couldn’t be as bad as the Forsaken Fortress. Yaaawn…” Link rolled over as his arm phased through Ayri’s body. The hologram closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, too.

**Yiga Clan Hideout**

The young Yiga child entered a torchlit chamber with piles of bananas. He took off his mask and pulled back his hood, exposing his messy white hair, red eyes, and pointed ears. “Ahh, my son.” The large man on the throne spoke. He was an overweight Yiga, peeling a banana before throwing the peel into the pile. “How was the Minish collecting? I can’t WAIT to chow on some Minish-farmed bananas!”

_

Leader of the Yiga Clan  
MASTER KOHGA

_

The boy looked upon his father with disbelief. “Actually, Father… we couldn’t recover the Minish. The soldiers were defeated by a boy with a sword.”

“Hmm? Must’ve been a Sheikah. Why didn’t you fight him, Kigo?”

“Because he had an unusual power, and he wasn’t a Sheikah. Not only was he able to change shape and size, he had a Sheikah Slate. Just like yours.”

“HMM?!” Kohga jumped in his seat. He grabbed the slate from his belt and held it up, studying it from various angles (Kigo didn’t see the point of this). “But my model is one thousand years old. Where could he have found it…”

“I don’t know. But he also had blonde hair and green clothes…”

“Blonde hair… green…! HOOOOOORRRRRMMMM!” Kohga dove into the bananas and burrowed under like a mole, popping out beside Kigo and shaking him by the shoulders. “KIGO! It’s him! It’s the Hero from all the old legends! The one who destroyed the demon, Majora and stopped the moon from falling!” Kohga released him and did a fast twirl. “Finally! And what of the timing! Only a month after Majora’s reincarnation had arrived! This is our opportunity to please her, Kigo! We MUST capture that boy, dead or alive!”

“Father, are you sure? I mean, a boy of his skill… he would be pretty handy to have with us, wouldn’t he?”

“Don’t be silly, boy! We need to determine his next course of action and work to set up an ambush! Did you gather any more info about him?”

“W-Well… before I decided to leave, I saw him and a Minish girl open the Rain Temple. Maybe he’s going to rescue the Four Maidens.”

“Let’s see…” Kohga stroked his chin. “There’s no way for him to get to the Twilight Isles, and the Snowcap Wastes are out of the question… Then it’s no doubt he’s going to the Sun Temple next! Kigo, you have to go to the Avian Highlands and wait for him! Do everything you can to bring that boy to his knees!”

“Hmm… Very well, Father.”

**The next morni-**

“LIIIINK!” Evan jumped on his bed and jolted him awake.

“COUGH! Evan!” Link saw that the other Bombers were here, too.

“Tee hee hee!” Meen giggled, standing on Evan’s shoulder. “I told them you were staying here! You didn’t know my family lived in that tiny hole down there, did you?”

“Link, you cheeky boy! What’s this in the paper about the poison suddenly being gone from Picori Island?” Evan held down a newspaper. “Don’t hide it, it was YOUR doing, wasn’t it?”

“You caught me red-handed. Now, please get off me.”

Evan jumped down and Link sat up. The kids stepped aside as Dr. Purah approached him. “But more importantly, I’m disappointed you didn’t come to ME first. I have to make sure my precious Sheikah Slate is okay!”

 _“Hey, I don’t belong to you, silly!”_ Ayri said.

“I unlocked some new functions for the slate inside the Rain Temple. I even met the Spring Maiden, and she gave me something called the Earth Arrow.”

“The Earth Arrow?” Purah asked. “I’ve never heard of such a function for a Sheikah Slate.”

“See for yourself.” The digital bow materialized in Link’s hands, and the arrow glowed green.

Purah gasped. “A brand new function for the Sheikah Slate… this is the most amazing thing ever! I have GOTTA take it back to my lab to analyze!”

“Hey, back off, Granny!” Evan stated. “That waterbike you made for us ended up explodin’, I hate to see that happen to Link’s thing.”

 _“I did that on purpose to teach you a lesson, brat.”_ The six-year-old glared. “And stop calling me Granny, I’m younger than you, ya dig?”

“Hah, not with THAT slang!”

“Did you say you got that from the Spring Maiden?” Sipha asked. “Oh, I love the story of the Four Maidens! It’s the most beautiful one in all of Termina, but it’s so sad!”

“Yes, yes,” Purah rolled her eyes, “it’s the most popular legend in Termina, besides the one of the Six Giants.”

“Wasn’t it Four Giants?” Gork asked.

“NO. It was SIX Giants. And Four Maidens. A story of four girls from four races coming together and bringing happiness to all-”

“And they all had beautiful, angelic voices,” Sipha sang, “and when they all sang together, it was like you were floating to the sun on a golden chariot, while the Giants give you back-massages and served you ice cream!” She embraced Nighlo in a hug and said, “Soooo romantiiiiic!”

“Sometimes, I wonder what goes on in her mind…” Gork commented.

“I didn’t know ice cream existed back then.” Link said. “Wait, why did I…”

“Say, Link, how’s about we treat you to breakfast?” Evan asked. “It’s the least we can do for everything you did.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I should really get—No, no, Link!” He suddenly whipped his head right. “You are gonna go with your new friends and get some fill. Hey!” Link slapped himself. “I don’t know who you are, but I don’t appreciate you controlling me! Just go with them,” slapped himself, “I know you’re hungry. Stop it!” Slap. “Just go!” Slap. “Nnck! Nnck! Nnck! Okay, fine! Just stop… hm?”

He looked at the Bombers. Their eyes were wide in total shock and confusion. “Uh, hehe… sounds great, let’s go eat.”

**Kokiel’s Cooking Corner**

The Bombers sat at an outdoor table and were served food by a 12-year-old Sheikah girl. Link was served a bowl of soup with mushrooms, and the first sip put a smile on his face. “Mmmm… This is pretty good!”

“Thank you!” the Sheikah said with a grin. “We went through a lot to collect the ingredients. Ever since the sea was frozen, we’ve been pretty slow on business.”

“What’d I tell you?” Purah asked. “Koko’s the best chef in town! We Sheikah are talented in more ways than technology!”

“I know, but I’m still just an apprentice…” Koko blushed, scratching her head. “Kokiel-san is still much better than me.”

“Koko, huh?” Link asked. “I… swear I saw you somewhere before.”

“Really? ’Cause I’ve never seen you before.”

“Yeah… Heh heh, maybe I’ve been playing too much _Kingdom Hearts_.”

“What’s _Kingdom Hearts_?”

“I have no idea, I’ve just been speaking nonsense lately.” Link sighed.

“Hee hee hee! Well, I’ll just leave you the bill.” Koko placed a paper on the table.

“Only 120 Rupees?” Link asked. “I collected way more than that from those Yiga.”

“YIGA?!” Koko and Purah yelped.

“Whoa whoa whoa! You ran into the Yiga Clan?!” Evan exclaimed.

“Yeah, they were some ninjas. You know them, too?”

“EVERYONE knows the Yiga Clan, dummy!” Purah said. “They’re Sheikah who went rogue and started attacking innocents! Their existence dates back nearly a thousand years ago, to a legend that says when the moon nearly fell on Termina. Supposedly, they worshipped a demon that caused the calamity to happen.”

“Zanifr.” Link said. “Uh, I mean… I wonder if that means they’re underlings of the masked girl?”

“I dunno, but if you got on their bad side, they’ll probably come for you again.”

“Sigh, then I can’t stay here for much longer. I have to go rescue the other Maidens from their curses. Do you guys know about the Avian Highlands?”

“Oh, that’s where Nighlo’s from!” Evan answered. “Right, Nighlo?”

“Huh?” The Rito gasped awake. “Sorry, I’m still drowsy… Link, I don’t know if going there’s a good idea. You can see the Highlands from the port, and the giant black storm cloud over them. They’ve been trapped in an endless storm for weeks. Rito can’t go flying because the lightning always strikes them. And the worst part is… I heard that the Murdo Mafia have taken over Rito Roost.”

“Murdo Mafia?”

“The Murdo are a tribe of Rito who are crows. I hear they’re pretty well-known in black markets.”

Ayri jumped out and said, _“Link, I just read that a ‘murder’ is a flock of crows, so it’s possible that the ‘Murdo’ combined the words ‘murder’ and ‘Rito’ to make their name.”_

“The more you know. Are they as bad as the Yiga?”

“Not really… In fact, I never actually hear about their crimes… most of the time, they’re just real shady. And they have this weird habit of asking questions.”

“Then I got nothing to worry about!” Link said, getting some Rupees from his wallet. “I’ll head to Avian Highlands, rescue the Summer Maiden, maybe pick up a new item or two, and be back before you know it!”

“Hey, we were treating you to breakfast, let us pay.” Evan stated, getting his own Rupees.

“Well, thank you, Evan. That’s pretty nice of you.” Link blushed.

“And in return, you let us come with you.”

“HUH?!”

“What, we know how to fight! We spar with each other all the time. I mean, sure that masked girl gave us a chill, but she was different! Sipha is wicked with her spear, Meen is great at training Pikmin, and Nighlo can spit nuts like bullets when he’s awake. Sometimes, we go out and kill us a few Seahats!”

“That’s cool to hear, but I’ve been in the monster-slaying business for two years. There’s no need to risk your lives to do what I should be doing. And besides, if there are areas I can only access with my powers, it’ll be too much trouble to lend my items to you so you can make it, y’know?”

“Sigh… I guess you got us there.” Evan conceded.

“Excuse me? Link, was it?” Koko approached him. “Um… I know I shouldn’t be asking a customer to do this, and you are really busy… but you are an adventurer, right? I really wanna expand my personal recipe book with new ingredients. So, if you’re out there, you think you could… bring back any ingredients you may pick up?” she asked with hands behind her back and shifting on one foot.

“Ha ha! Of course I can, Koko, I always got time for side quests. ’Long as I get a Heart Piece for it.”

“I don’t know about that, but if I can make 20 recipes, maybe I’ll give you this mask!” Koko held up a brown bloodhound mask.

“Okay, fair enough, I guess!” Link said, unsure.

_Side Quest: Koko’s Cooking Corner: Bring Koko ingredients to make new recipes!_

Link searched the town and found a Sheikah Warp by the Clock Tower, so now he could warp back to town whenever. Afterwards, Link returned to the _Ancient Lion_ and began sailing to the east, seeing a vast mountain range miles away, as well as the dark clouds above it. He was attacked by Snowhats, a type of Seahat that could cut through ice, but they were no match for Link’s arrows. _I admit they would’ve slowed you down, but I wouldn’t underestimate them. I bet they were pretty strong._

“You still haven’t told me why you’re in my head.”

_I only came here to watch you up close, but I didn’t think we would share a body. My friend calls this a “Reverse-Reincarnation.”_

“Reverse-Reincarnation, right. And why do you want to Reverse-Reincarnate in me, anyway?”

_To be honest, I’m hoping that I can regain a bit of strength by connecting with you. I’ve been pretty out-of-practice lately, and I think another good adventure can help me get back into it. And also, I’m really curious about that girl’s mask. I have a good idea what it really is, but I need to know more about it._

“Well, just don’t get in my way too much. We’re here.” (Play “Tower of the Goats” from _A Hat in Time_!)

The air became warm and the water was unfrozen as a strong wind picked up. Link docked his boat at a small shore at the base of the storming mountains. Link switched Ayri’s personality to ‘Scared.’ _“M-M-Master… th-these are the Avian Highlands. They’re the tallest mountains in Termina, a-and the sky is always very clear and bright. B-But now it’s all dark and stormy, a-and it’s scary!”_

“Don’t worry, Ayri. I sail in storms like this all the time. Just trust your big brother.”

_“B-Big Brother?”_

“Heheh! Never mind.”

 

_Stage 5: Avian Highlands_

_Mission: Reach the Rito Roost._

Link climbed a few tall steps, but quickly arrived at a dead end. There was a sign that read, _Stairs closed for repairs. Please leave your name and address and we’ll write to you when they’re fixed._ However, Link looked above at the towering pointed posts and used his boomerang to link them with the sign. However, the last post was covered by a cracked boulder, but he could destroy it by shooting an Earth Arrow. “So, do these arrows basically serve as my bombs? Kind of disappointed, honestly.”

After balancing up the ropes, Link stepped off on a path leading into the mountains. There was a gate guarded by two crow Rito in brown robes and Western hats. Link surmised these were the Murdo. He calmly approached the guards, but one told him, “Apologies, fellow ‘Rito,’ but this road is, off limits, due to monster infestation.”

“But I have a sword.” Link said.

“How lovely. And what one-word activity do you commonly do with your sword?”

“Uhhh… Battle?”

“I see. Then perhaps you would like to go **BATTLE** with your sword somewhere else. Good day to you, fellow Rito.”

Link was already baffled by their behavior. He decided to head back and hide behind a short rock, where he turned into a Minish. There was a tiny hole in the left wall, and it led around to another hole behind the gate. Link returned to normal and proceeded into an open area with large stones. Link raised his shield when the stones grew stubby hands and feet and approached him.

_“Link, those are Stone Pebblits! They’re sentient rocks that can’t be cut with a sword! B-B-But they can be blown up. Still, the way they move is so scary for rocks!”_

“I am extremely curious what your responses for your other personalities are.” Link said as he used his Earth Arrows to destroy the Pebblits. Of course, more of the creatures would rise out of the ground. There was a geyser in the ground by the wall, and Link felt it was too dangerous to ride in because of its heat. Link plugged the hole with a Stone Pebblit and stood on the creature as they were blasted up. Link hopped to a ledge and saw some Bokoblin stationed on wooden towers and platforms on the cliffside. “Ah, Bokoblin. I was starting to miss these guys.”

“Huh?! HEY, GUYS! It’s that kid with the sword! SHOOT ’IM!” The Bokoblin grabbed bows and started shooting. Link dodged and fired Earth Arrows at them, but they impaled them just the same as normal arrows.

_“L-L-Link! You know Earth Arrows have no effect on non-earth targets, you know? T-They’re just the same as usual arrows.”_

“Whatever, Ayri, we killed them, didn’t we? I must say, it’s really convenient not to worry about running out of arrows.” There was a path across a gap, but there were no posts to form a rope. However, the tower on the edge had a leg lodged within a small rock, and when Link shot it with an Earth Arrow, the rock broke, exposing the shorter leg as the tower toppled and became a bridge.

Link crossed and entered an entrenched path. The earth shook when a bolt of lightning struck up the path, sending boulders barreling his direction. Link quickly blasted them with the Earth Arrow, but ducked any remaining debris. Link raced further up the path, and the lightning struck once more, completely blocking the path with gigantic boulders. They were too strong for even Link’s Earth Arrow. However, he could become a Minish and enter a tiny gap under the boulders.

Link reached the end of the path and had another view of the open sea. To his left was a very steep and rugged hill, and Link’s climbing skill was nowhere good enough to make it up there. However, there was a Billy goat standing on a ledge partway up, and Link could use his boomerang to connect a stalagmite up there with one beside him. Once up by the goat, Link became a Minish and climbed onto its nose when it bent its head down. The goat hopped its way up the rugged path, Link holding its fur as his body flailed in the air.

Once up top, Link was viewing a field of watchtowers with Murdo perched on them. Unfortunately, it was too windy for his Minish form to cross the field, so he had to become human and crouch down. Link glanced up at the Murdo, watching them turn and staying out of their eyesight. The last two Murdo were facing directly at the stairs, so Link had to shoot an Earth Arrow at a cracked boulder up on the left, catching their attention. Link raced up the stairs, but had to crouch again at the top when he noticed Murdo sitting at a table under a roof.

There were other such tables on this road, but with the wind constantly blowing Link backward, he had to stay crouched. “The Gorons never like to share their rocks with anyone!” one Murdo said, and all the tables burst into laughter as they crazily flapped their wings. _“CAW! CAW! CAW! CAW!”_

“And the entire island caught on fire!” another Murdo said, and the laughter rang throughout the air again. Whenever this happened, Link had the chance to crawl a little further. “And the Zora said, ‘These new fishsticks taste delicious!’ _CAW! CAW! CAW! CAW!_ And did you notice we all look exactly the same?! _CAW! CAW! CAW! CAW!_ It’s like the gods copied us from the same model! _CAW! CAW! CAW! CAW!”_

Link got past the Murdo and arrived at another cliff with a Kargarok sitting in a nest. It was making its usual eerie caw, but Link once again snuck up to it as a Minish and climbed on its back. The bird flapped its wings and took off up the mountains, getting uncomfortably closer to the raging clouds. The Minish was startled when lightning struck a mountaintop, hurdling rocks in their direction as Link steered the Kargarok to dodge.

Miniblin came riding beside them on their own Kargarok, trying to poke the one Link was on, but the tiny hero could shoot arrows in their eyes and steer them away. Link reached a more open field and reverted to human form, for the strong winds blew the Kargarok away. Link picked up a rock to make him heavier before going up the steps into the field. The ground shook when lightning struck ahead, and he felt his sword sparking with electricity.

 _“L-Link! Lightning is about to strike you! It’s attracted to your sword! DO SOMETHING!”_ Link looked both ways, panicking, but there was nothing to hide under. He quickly set his rock down and became a Minish: his sword was too small to attract the lightning, and the gigantic rock blocked him from the wind. Link changed back and continued the trek, shrinking down whenever lightning threatened him. He made it into a vertical cave with a ladder to carry him up. He climbed to a path with much calmer wind, the thunder rumbling softly. The path seemed to fork: the left road led into a chasm with a gusty updraft, and another sign stating that the stairs were broken.

Link decided to follow the right path, leading him to a field enclosed within some pointed walls. A Murdo was standing by the entrance, staring up at the furthest peak. “Hey, what’s going on over here?” Link asked.

“Oh, hello, fellow Rito. You are just in time! The sacrifice is about to begin!”

Link gasped when he realized that a young Rito was bound to the peak via a rope around his leg. “We offer this sacrifice to the mighty God of Thunder,” proclaimed a beefy Murdo dressed in religious robes, “in prayer that he will spare our humble village! Mighty spirit, we hope you enjoy your feast, and we ask what your favorite sauce to go with roasted Rito is!”

“Oh, I love me a good sacrifice.” the guard said. “Say, fellow Rito, what is your favorite part of the sacrifice?”

“The part where I stop it!” Link bolted past him.

“Hmm… I am not fond of the **DATA ERROR** , but to each their own, I guess.”

Halfway across the field, Link was stopped by a puff of smoke, and a Yiga boy appeared. “Who are you?!”

“I am Kigo: the son of Master Kohga and the heir of the Yiga Clan!”

“Ha ha ha! I see your father spared no thought in naming you!”

“I had a feeling you would be coming here, Hero of Legend. May I say, it is an honor to have the chance to assassinate you-”

“Yeah, yeah.” Link casually passed him. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a life to save.”

Kigo drew his blade and slashed, but Link was quick to counter with his sword. “You won’t take another step!”

“Can’t you see that he’s about to die?! I heard you Yiga were bad, but I didn’t think you were heartless!”

“Dude, we’re trained to literally take peoples’ hearts.”

Link sighed. “Fine, then we’ll have to do this the hard way.” (Play “Kohga Battle” from _Breath of the Wild_!)

_Sub-boss: Kigo_

Link swiftly clashed with Kigo, back-flipping when the boy swung at his legs. Kigo ran to Link’s left and poofed into smoke, and Link gasped when Kigo appeared above and tried to stab down. Kigo’s sword impaled the ground, so Link had the chance to stab him. Kigo recovered and used a Shadow Clone Jutsu to divide into three. The clones kept a distance from Link and shot arrows in mirror fashion, so he couldn’t determine which ones were real. As Link kept his shield raised, he locked onto all three with his boomerang and linked them together, forcing Kigo to dispel the jutsu.

In that moment of weakness, Link shot him with his own arrows. Kigo charged a spin attack and whirled at Link, the hero using a Shield Bash to bounce him back. Kigo was beginning the attack again, so Link decided to counter with a similar move: the Hurricane Spin. Both speeding spins collided, yet they were both of equal strength, and both swordsmen became dizzy as a result. When they came to, Kigo performed the same attack, but this time, Link chose to shrink to Minish form, get under the sword’s radius, and then quickly change back to deal an uppercut.

Kigo grabbed Link’s fist and tossed him away, then ran to slash him in the left hip, Link clutching the bleeding wound. “I know about your shape-shifting, Hero! I watched you in the woods.”

 _You know, that brings up a good question._ Link thought. He shot a few arrows that Kigo whacked away, then tossed his Hero’s Shield to knock his sword away. Kigo ran to retrieve it, but Link seized the chance to pounce him from behind and stick the Minish Cap on his head. There was a flash, and Kigo transformed into a harmless Minish.  “Hey! What the heck happened-”

Link caught him in a bottle, holding him up beside his beaming face. “Whaddya know! It does work on other people!” He proceeded to shake the bottle around, laughing silly. He then dumped the Minish out and pulled his cap off, and the second he changed back, Link SLASHED him in the mask and sliced it in half. (End song.)

“NNGH!” Kigo gripped his bleeding face. His hood came back, and the voice in Link’s head gasped at seeing his white hair. _He looks… familiar…_

“Grrr, you’re tougher than I thought. If I hesitated for even a second, that sword would’ve cleaved half my head off.”

“I wasn’t trying to kill you. I hurt people enough to make them give in, but I won’t kill a fellow human.”

“Yeah? Well, you were so busy fighting me, you forgot to save _him_ , didn’t you?”

Link gasped, looking up at the Rito boy. The thunderclouds circled above him, attracted by the harp on his back. Link quickly tossed his boomerang and severed his rope—the lightning STRUCK, and the singed Rito came crashing to the earth. Link fearfully rushed to his aid and bent down. “Hey! Are you o…kay…?” The Rito cracked open his red eyes, and those combined with his darkened white hair made Link realize, “Wait… are you… Prince Komali?”

“Cough! H-Human… tell Medoh… that I…” He fainted.

_“Link! I-I-I don’t think he’s gonna make it!”_

“The great Hero who fixed all problems in Termina.” Kigo smirked. “Even he couldn’t bring back those that had died.” (Play “Song of Healing” from _Majora’s Mask_.)

“…” With a more serious expression, Link stood and conducted the Song of Healing. The goddess’s soothing voice touched the Rito’s soul, and he was awash in memories.

_Young Ko’an was an ordinary boy, peacefully strolling on the walkways of his elevated village. Passing dozens of other Rito, his destination was a restaurant called The Bird Seed. There, he would sit front row as a beautiful girl of 16 played the most beautiful songs on a harp. She would peep open her eyes and stare down at Ko’an, a blush on his brown feathers. One day, Medoh lent him her harp and guided his fingers in playing the instrument. She was two years older than him, so Ko’an never expected her to like him romantically, and this was the closest they could get._

_And then, when she was playing on the stage, easing everyone’s fear of the raging storm, her arm was snatched by the black feathers of the Murdo. Medoh was dragged into darkness, leaving her harp behind. Ko’an claimed the instrument and determinedly flew into the darkness, only to find himself surrounded by the preying eyes of Murdo. The boss’s silhouette was up against the bright white window as he turned to Ko’an, and a girl with glowing blue eyes on her dark mask rose behind him. Ko’an had no chance of escape as the Murdo swarmed him, like the darkness overtaking his soul._

Link and his “passenger” saw this very scene, and involuntary tears ran down their faces. Vito’s spirit sat on his shoulder, crying as well. Ko’an’s body disappeared, leaving only his mask, a face brimming with confidence. “What… did you do…” Kigo spoke.

Link picked the mask up. “I healed him.” (End song.)

**You got the _Rito Mask_! Wear this to inhabit the form of a Rito! Spread your wings to glide across the air and ride gusts of wind. You can also flap your wings to blow strong gusts of wind.**

“That power… is the same as the masked girl.” Kigo said.

“So, you know about the masked girl, too?”

“Heh. You impressed me today, Hero. Maybe you’ll impress me some more.” Kigo poofed and vanished.

“Hmm… At any rate: time to test this out!” Link put on the mask and felt another terrible transformation: feathers grew, his arms became wings, talons pierced through his boots, and he was now the spitting image of Ko’an (save for clothes). “PERFECT! No more high ledges, because I can FLY!” Link flapped his wings and LIFTED off! …A few feet. “AH!” Then he fell. “What gives, can this guy not fly well?”

_“Link, that wound in your hip! I-It’s still bleeding!”_

“Oh, right. We better fix that, shouldn’t we? I think Rito Roost is up that other way.” Getting accustomed to his new feet, Link walked to the other path and could fly in the updraft blowing up from below. This set him on the entrance to Rito Roost.

**In the other world**

Cheren took off his hat and wiped off the remnants of tears. “Hehehe. Go on a feels trip?” Hat Kid grinned.

“I felt something, alright.” Cheren noticed the red stain on his white shirt, lifting it to see the cut.

Hat Kid gasped. “I…I had no idea, I…”

“Heheheh. No adventure is complete without a little danger.”

 

**Speaking of songs, though, there is going to be a song in a later chapter, and it’s based off one of my _favorite_ soundtracks from _Donkey Kong_. X3 And yes, Earth Arrows are basically our bombs. I never favored actual bombs in the _Zelda_ series because they make combat too easy, especially those bloody Bomb Arrows from recent games. And fans of _A Hat in Time_ will DEFINITELY recognize the Murdo. I don’t think we’ll get to the 2nd dungeon next chapter, but there might be a mini-dungeon.**


End file.
